Symbiotic Craving
by tundrapower11
Summary: An alternate world where Tatsumi meets Esdeath earlier on in his journey. Definitely an Esdeath x Tatsumi pairing.
1. Name

_I love you._

"Huh?"

 _I love you Tatsumi._

"What?"

 _You will be mine._

Tatsumi shuffled to look behind him.

"Damn, she's… gorgeous."

The woman was beautiful. She possessed the savage allure that is contained in so few of the countless souls recycled between life and death. Tatsumi couldn't see very well, but he just knew from her presence, she was the most beautiful woman he will ever see. He hadn't even dreamed of someone like this in his wildest teenage fantasies. He could sense the volition emanating from her body, her power held in it the noble savagery that was uniquely hers and hers alone. He had no idea that he could be so aroused and so fearful at the same time. Words such as "ravage," "ravenous," and "fear" suddenly held new meaning; doors to brighter inner sexual understanding have now been unlocked and opened.

But then Tatsumi felt it fade away. His excitement dissipated to plain, but bold lust. Her discreet, yet imposing presence blurred into one that was more familiar, less mysterious. The air was now harsh, cold, and sharp. He could now feel the rough, hot fabric of his blankets encompassing him.

He was in bed.

Ieyasu was standing next to his recumbent form.

Tatsumi had been dreaming.

He could not remember why he felt this aching in his chest.

"Dang, dude, your bed breath smells awful" were the words that now hit his eardrums, instead of the dominant, yet gentle words of love he heard in his dream.

Tatsumi was suddenly alert, realizing the true nature of his ordeal. He quickly turned his back to Ieyasu to face the wall, and inhaled a little.

"It's okay dude, it's nothing to worry about, we all get that problem too" stated Ieyasu, his empathy giving an understanding weight to his words. "You know that trick my dad taught me right? You just breathe in a little, hold it, and hold it 'till you feel like you're close to suffocating."

Tatsumi's cheeks remained puffed, his face turning even redder.

"Then you breathe out and in again, and hold it. Just repeat the process till it- you know, it goes away."

Tatsumi's entire body was shaking now.

"It's better if you don't die from suffocating yourself though."

Tatsumi exhaled loudly and breathed in again, cheeks puffed to make his head look like a melon. He could now finally feel his body forget his dream, and his lust too began to melt away. He exhaled and when he was sure it was gone, he threw off the covers. He slowly turned towards Ieyasu, and stomped off the bed towards the water basin, not looking Ieyasu in the eye once.

Ieyasu scampered after him. "Don't worry my dude, I won't tell anybody. Not gonna lie though, you have some rather impressive morning wood!"

Tatsumi scowled at him over his shoulder, bent over the basin with a toothbrush in his mouth. Ieyasu's asymmetrical grin faltered and disappeared.

"Don't worry, I won't tell nobody just stop looking at me like that jeez."

…

Tatsumi and Ieyasu left their shack and headed out into the snow. Normally Tatsumi would enjoy the scenery, the snow falling ever so gently, if it weren't for his incident in the shack. The two young men crossed their neighbor's field, now void of crops due to the winter and headed to a stone house with smoke escaping the short chimney. Ieyasu knocked thrice and the door immediately opened.

"Thank you so much for coming before you two brave young men set out on your journey" The woman exclaimed as Ieyasu and Tatsumi shook their boots off. "I'm so happy you decided to be here for my baby!"

"It's nothing; really, we had to come for Sayo" Tatsumi assured. "We brought a little something for her."

Tatsumi gestured to Ieyasu as Ieyasu brought out a canvas bag from his knapsack.

"Cookies! I baked 'em myself so she better eat 'em" Ieyasu said excitedly.

"I bet it was actually Tatsumi who made them" croaked a voice from the next room.

"She isn't wrong…" Tatsumi muttered.

"Sayo, stop, these nice friends of yours came to say their goodbyes before they leave" Sayo's mother scolded.

The three gingerly stepped into Sayo's candle-lit room. Bed-ridden and groggy, Sayo and her usual healthy aura had devolved into one of decay and sickness. She had been sick for 3 weeks, with the village doctor having no cure or prognosis for her condition. Every villager feared the worst for Sayo, especially since her illness had left her unable to walk for long periods of time and digest her food properly.

"I am glad you came here Tatsumi" Sayo said, trying her best to healthy. Tatsumi thanked her and Ieyasu snorted. "Oh yeah, you're here too, Ieyasu."

The three childhood friends laughed, it had been a while since they had all shared a laugh. Ieyasu was too worried about Sayo to get her back; she was so thin and pale.

"Sayo, we promise you, while we are at the capitol, we will get the money to bring you a doctor" stated Ieyasu. "Like, one of those rich snobby ones who know everything, like in those comic books we would read."

Sayo looked at Ieyasu and made as strong a smile as she could muster.

"Thank you Ieyasu. And thank you Tatsumi, you both will be… cherished in my memory forever" she said softly, her face a struggle to show happiness.

…

Tatsumi and Ieyasu set out from the front village gate. Both their hearts felt tense, but their minds were confident. The Capitol was going to be theirs; no one could stop them at that moment. Tatsumi looked at the small figurine the village chief gave them. The wood felt rough, even in his gloved fingers.

"The path will be hard and rough Tatsumi" the chief told him. "Ieyasu, Tatsumi, look out for each other. Remember; learn as much as you can on this journey. You will take in new things, sharpen your instincts, and learn what it is like to be real men. This will be your moment."

Tatsumi already knew all this, but was doubtful he truly understood all of it. " _I'm sure I'm already a real man. What could this trip possibly teach me about being a man?"_ He thought. He could tell that Ieyasu was thinking the same thing; his face was always like an open book with large, bold lettering to be read from a mile away.

The two agreed that after leaving the village, they would stop at an inn in the next village. _The Pot-Bellied Hog_ , also known simply as _The Hog_ , was famed for the succulent bacon dishes made by the head chef. Rumor had it that she trained in the culinary arts in the Capitol itself. It was definitely a place that Ieyasu wanted to stay in. Unfortunately, it was a two day trip on foot. Tatsumi and Ieyasu walked all day, and slept under trees in their tent at night, with jerky and dried leeks as their only source of food. This went on until they finally reached Fisher Village, the home of _The Hog_.

"Hark!"

Tatsumi and Ieyasu stood at the main gate of the village, waiting to be let in when they heard a gruff old voice.

"Th' hell yer think yer doin'?" the voice said.

Ieyasu saw him first- the voice came from a bearded old gatekeeper hunched over the edge of the wall.

"Who're you givin' that attitude to, baldy?" Ieyasu provoked. "We just want to come in!"

Tatsumi feared that Ieyasu's outburst cheated them out of living in civilization for the night, and expected the worst when, after a long silence, the gatekeeper opened his mouth.

"Damn, my apolagaysies- er, apologies. Thought ye were bandits, but ye don't looky hard enough teh be criminals."

Tatsumi didn't know whether to be thankful or just plain insulted. He looked over to Ieyasu, and noticed he was still red in the face, but calming down.

"Ye travelers r' lucky to come to Fisher's today" the gatekeeper stated. "We gots 'um visitors comin' in from th' shiniest asshole in the world, th' Capitol timorrow."

" _Did he just call the Capitol a 'shiny asshole?'"_ Tatsumi thought. _"He reminds so much of Ieyasu, no wonder Ieyasu is so mad right now."_

The portcullis and main gate were opened and Tatsumi's jaw dropped. He knew Fisher was very prosperous for a village in the Northern Region, but he had no idea it could be _this_ big. This was no village, this was a _town._ The duo bobbed and weaved through the many people in the cobblestone streets, conducting their own errands or taking advantage of the cool winter night to get drunk at the many bars and inns. They stopped occasionally to watch street performers that were always accompanied by small crowds surrounding them. Ieyasu particularly enjoyed the man giving out free samples of smoked danger beast meat. After asking around, getting lost, and asking for directions again, Tatsumi and Ieyasu found what they were looking for- _The Pot- Bellied Hog._ They immediately booked a room and waited to be seated for dinner. After a few moments of waiting, the two were seated and given steaming hot plates of bacon- wrapped quiche, bacon sandwiches, and to top it all off, two slices of bacon- crusted cheesecake. Tatsumi thought he was going to throw up, but Ieyasu was enjoying himself to the fullest. After getting slapped by their waitress for requesting to see her panties, Ieyasu finally decided to go to bed and Tatsumi happily obliged. As Ieyasu quickly drifted to sleep, Tatsumi ran to the outhouse in the back, regretting his sinful indulgence of bacon.

Tatsumi slowly awoke the chirp and scrawl of Fisher Village's people going about their morning business.

" _This place is so big. How does this place even qualify as a village?"_ Tatsumi brushed his teeth and for the first time in days, took a bath. Afterwards he went down to the bottom floor to have breakfast. He found Ieyasu already sitting at a table near one of the windows, eating a bacon-weave inside a pancake. Refusing to eat bacon this time, he ate a bowl of oatmeal, ignoring Ieyasu's look of confusion.

"Eat some bacon man, you're in th' freakin' _Hog_ for god's sake" pressured Ieyasu.

Suddenly, everyone in _The Hog_ heard a loud rumble, and a large, brutish conception erupted from the ground outside the inn. Lamps shook and tables fell over, people began to scream and tumbled over each other towards the back door. The lamp above Tatsumi and Ieyasu's table fell and hit Ieyasu in the head, knocking him unconscious. Tatsumi watched the chaos, not even comprehending what was happening. Then he looked out the broken window to see what caused the disaster. It was long, worm-like. Its rotund mouth held multiple sharp fangs in each of its circular jaws. An earth dragon, a rarity during the winter season, and strong enough to break through the cobblestone ground that was specially designed to protect against attacks like these.

" _Sweet. I've fought danger beasts like this before, no problem. If I take it out, maybe I'll get noticed and be able to join the Imperial Army"_ Tatsumi thought to himself.

Wasting no time, Tatsumi attacked first. Tatsumi vaulted through the broken window and threw a brick into the earth dragon's open mouth. As the danger beast struggled to spit the brick back out, Tatsumi ran up the monster's rough hide, using the many bumps and spikes as handholds. Reaching the head of the monster, he drew his sword and stabbed it into the danger beast's brain. The monster's roar was suddenly shortened and its entire body shuddered and convulsed, then began to fall onto the street below. The earth dragon's body fell with a heavy _thwump_ and Tatsumi side-rolled onto the ground to recover from his fall. His recent victory brought a smile to his face, he knew he loved battle. The many bystanders left the shelter of their homes and looked on in awe. Some were angry that the ground wasn't hard enough to protect from an attack from this earth dragon. Others were excited to see someone kill a danger beast. But one person didn't feel angry or excited, only very impressed.

"Tell me, what is your name?" a voice from the crowd inquired.

"Uh, Tatsumi" Tatsumi automatically responded, not sure where the speaker was.

"Tatsumi… that's a nice name." the speaker said. Tatsumi thought she sounded like she was speaking more to herself than to him. Tatsumi turned to the speaker's general direction, finally regaining his composure after the fight. However, the speaker seemed to be behind the mass of people gawking at the recent destruction.

"Tell me Tatsumi, how old are you?" The voice asked.

"Oh, uh, I'll be seventeen tomorrow."

"Good… that's excellent."

The crowd suddenly parted, as if every bystander realized they had some urgency to attend to. All that was left was a young woman, her eyes burning with an intent that felt new to Tatsumi. Her presence felt so familiar, even though he knew there was no way he had met such a woman before. She emanated an aura that threatened to take what she wanted, to destroy anything she wanted, to ravage whomever she wanted. Such volition was unparalleled by anyone else in the region, perhaps even the country. However, Tatsumi could sense no threat from her, hurting him seemed the least of her intentions, unless he gave her reason to.

"Do you… feel fear Tatsumi?"

"…Uh, well, not while I was fighting that earth worm, I've fought plenty of bugs like him before… if that's what you mean."

She stepped closer to him, eyes never leaving his unsteady gaze.

"Would you like to come with me to the Capitol Tatsumi?" The woman asked. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Tatsumi's eyes lit up.

"Yes! My village needs money and my friend is sick and me and my other friend, you see, we want to go to the Capitol to make money in the army and…" Tatsumi's excitement faltered, misinterpreting the woman's expression of amusement for one of annoyance. "…uh… sorry, I uh… just say too much sometimes…"

The woman stepped closer, her strides more urgent.

"That's all I needed to hear Tatsumi. I think, you are… exactly what I've been… inquiring for…"

The woman continued striding to a now nervous Tatsumi. She stopped only when she could put her hand on his shoulder.

"Then come with me Tatsumi. I will show you many things you used to only dream of when you were in your village. You will have more than enough for your needs and the needs of your people. You will learn all that you need to become strong, and…" she leaned in to his ear. "So… much… _more._ " she whispered.

Tatsumi was completely flustered. No one had ever talked to him with such intent like this before.

"U-u-uh, okay." Tatsumi stuttered softly.

"You will have all that you need. Everything you ask I will give. Everything I ask you will give. I will give you the experience to become strong, and you will teach me about all that I am unfamiliar with. I will satisfy you and you will satisfy me. We will help each other as the insect feeds on the aphid, and the aphid supplies nutrients to the insect." The woman whispered softly, still into Tatsumi's ear.

The woman then looked Tatsumi in the eye, her expression suddenly new, an alluring look on her face. Tatsumi's chest suddenly throbbed, a ball of new and confused emotions formed in his heart. His eyes no longer faltered in their gaze, they met the woman's now soft eyes, his sudden bravery surprising even himself.

"What should I call you ma'am?" Tatsumi asked softly.

The woman's hand left Tatsumi's shoulder so that her arms could cross below her breast. The determination in her presence returned. Her chilled warmth hypnotized Tatsumi in a way that he couldn't even describe, his emotions were so unfamiliar to him at this moment. Her stance assumed even more deadly confidence from the air around her. It seemed the world, the animals, the stars, even the very elements were created just to bend to this woman's will. Utilizing one hand to take off her cap, her starry- blue eyes met Tatsumi's icy green pupils.

"You can call me Esdeath" the woman stated.


	2. The Lynx

Sudden changes in a young man's life are often perceived two different ways- the weak-willed fool will feel powerless, disheartened. The ambitious, determined individual sees change as an opportunity for adventure, excitement, and a gain in the life experience vital for maturing into a man. The wise man seeks change, instead of rejecting it. Tatsumi has had this recited to him many times, but he had never truly experienced what this had meant for himself. Until now.

Tatsumi felt his head bob to the carriage's vibrations and rocking. The return of strength that began to fill his body told him that he must have recently been asleep. Opening his eyes, he noticed two snow-white mounds in front of his face. Barely awake, Tatsumi haphazardly reached to them, gripping, poking, and trying to figure out what they were. Tatsumi noticed that they felt soft initially, but were suddenly hard if he pressed his finger too deep into the mounds.

"Do you have a fetish for my knees, Tatsumi?" a bewildered Esdeath teased.

" _Knees?"_ Tatsumi thought.

Suddenly he was wide awake. He tried to sit up, but something kept him from moving even an inch. He struggled to get free, but something on his neck kept him from rising.

"I love it when you struggle, Tatsumi" Esdeath's voice cooed.

"Wh- what…" Tatsumi stuttered.

Then he realized what was happening. He must have unconsciously rested his head on Esdeath's lap while asleep. But if he did it unknowingly, then why was Esdeath's hand on his neck forcing him to stay on her lap?

" _She forced my head onto her lap"_ Tatsumi reasoned to himself. " _Why would she do that?"_

"Is everything alright back there, Lady Esdeath?" a man's voice asked.

"Yes, everything is alright, River. More than alright, to be precise" Esdeath chuckled.

"We are going to arrive at the ice cream shop in about a minute, General" River explained. "Then we will be heading straight for the south gate and towards camp."

"Thank you, River." Esdeath looked down at Tatsumi, her hand now stroking his jaw line. "Did you hear that Tatsumi?"

"Y-yes Esd- Lady… Esdeath?" Tatsumi responded warily.

Esdeath chuckled.

"River, you and I are going to really enjoy this young man, won't we?"

The mustached driver glanced at Tatsumi and looked back to the horses.

"Yes, my lady" said River, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Tatsumi, you can just call me Esdeath." Esdeath assured, her hand now caressing the back of his neck.

After his initial meeting with Esdeath, Tatsumi was told to pack his things to head to her camp outside of Fisher Village with her servant, River. From there they would hitch a ride on her dragon to the Capitol. Although Tatsumi wanted to bring Ieyasu, Esdeath claimed that there would not be enough room in the horse-drawn carriage and the dragon for Esdeath, Tatsumi, River, and Ieyasu. However, Esdeath promised that she would send a rider for Ieyasu so he wouldn't have to make the trip on foot, though she only seemed to do this to keep Tatsumi happy. Tatsumi remembered he and Ieyasu's parting conversation as Esdeath stroked his shoulder.

"Good luck Tats, I'm happy for you" Ieyasu praised.

"Thanks man, I'm gonna miss you" Tatsumi lamented.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other in a few months" said Ieyasu. "I can make it on my own here until my ride arrives, don't worry about me, worry 'bout yourself. You're th' one who's gonna be havin' all the adventure till I get there."

Ieyasu then leaned in, and whispered; "but dude, I don't really know who she is, but that blue bitch really digs ya. I'd totally go for it if I were you."

Tatsumi then promptly smacked him upside the head. After saying their goodbyes, Tatsumi brought all of his possessions and gear to Esdeath's waiting carriage and rode to the camp, in the backseat with Esdeath.

"Here we are, Tatsu-baby" Esdeath said in a sing-song voice. The cart slowly stopped in, the horses gently putting an end to their momentum. Blushing, she finished; "you don't mind me calling you that, right?"

Tatsumi's face and chest burned. "I k-kinda mind, to be… be honest."

Esdeath finally let Tatsumi sit up. "A shame" she uttered. "Oh well" she continued, leaning in to his ear. "You, however, can call me anything you'd like."

"Y-y-yes, L-lady… I mean Esdeath…" Tatsumi shut his eyes out of embarrassment. "…just Esdeath!"

Chuckling, Esdeath left the carriage after River. Tatsumi slowly followed behind, flustered by what Esdeath just told him.

" _Was Ieyasu right?"_ Tatsumi thought. " _Does Esdeath want me? I didn't know girls were this direct with guys."_

"Have you ever tasted ice cream Tatsumi?" Esdeath asked as they entered the ice cream parlor.

Tatsumi thought a moment before answering, watching Esdeath order an ice cream cone at the counter. "No but I've heard it's really cold. I'd rather not eat something cold during the winter."

"Well then, does a coffee sound good? It will be my treat."

"I guess I'm more of a tea person. Get me a tea, please. The mint kind" Tatsumi requested. "By the way, uh, Esdeath…?"

"Yes, Tatsu-bunny?"

"Um… if I may… why do you insist on eating ice cream in the middle of winter in the Northern Region? It's really cold up here."

Esdeath looked at him for a moment. Tatsumi felt his chest swell in anticipation whenever she looked at him like that. Anticipation for what, he was unsure. Then Esdeath finally answered.

"I'm… immune to the cold."

Tatsumi received his tea and they both walked outside, Tatsumi blowing his hot drink as discreetly as possible.

"Immune? How is that possible?" Tatsumi inquired.

"Do you know what a teigu is, Tatsu-bunny?"

"I'm not your 'Tatsu-bunny'" Tatsumi pouted. "But I don't know what tigers have to do with being immune to the cold-"

" _Teigu_ Tatsumi, _teigu"_

"No, I don't know what a teigu is."

River then stepped in.

"Teigu are super weapons created by one of the old emperors" River explained. "He created them to support this country so that we would have weapons to defend ourselves with that were stronger than the average sword or lance."

"Yes River" Esdeath acknowledged. "By the way, River, where have you been?"

"Bathroom, Lady Esdeath" River answered.

"My teigu, the Demon's Extract, allows me to control ice in almost any way I see fit" Esdeath continued to Tatsumi. "Such ability comes with some extra bonuses, of course, and being immune to the cold is among those extra benefits."

Tatsumi was dumbstruck. If it weren't for Esdeath and River's matter-of-fact tones, Tatsumi would have thought they were joking.

"That's… that's magic. Where is your tiger- er, I mean teigu Esdeath?"

To Tatsumi's surprise, Esdeath's cold, porcelain hand grabbed his and forced it to a tattoo on her chest.

"Right… _here_ " she said, whispering the last word deep into his ear.

" _Her skin's so soft"_ Tatsumi found himself thinking. " _…and her boobs… I knew they were huge, but they look so_ _ **big**_ _now."_

Tatsumi quickly shook his head. Such thoughts were reserved for certain moments, and now was not one of them.

As suddenly as she grabbed his hand, Esdeath let go and looked at Tatsumi with a triumphant smirk.

" _She's teasing me. I just know it. But if I'm really honest with myself, I don't mind it at all"_ Tatsumi thought.

River cleared his throat, taking Tatsumi's mind off his moment with Esdeath. Realizing they had to get going, the three returned to the carriage, Tatsumi finishing his tea and Esdeath playfully shoving the rest of her cone into his mouth.

"Tatsumi…"

Tatsumi struggled to swallow the remnants of the cone without choking and then answered.

"Mmhmm?"

Esdeath patted on her lap looking at Tatsumi expectantly.

"Get to it."

Her meaning took a moment to register for Tatsumi, but then he slowly laid his head on her cool thighs, trying to ignore the swelling feeling in his chest and how Esdeath was stroking his long brown hair.

"Good boy" Esdeath cooed.

"Esdeath, can I ask you something?" said Tatsumi, looking up at Esdeath.

Esdeath smiled. "You can ask me anything."

"If you guys are from the Capitol, why were you in Fisher Village? I mean, I've heard this place doesn't even compare with the Capitol."

Tatsumi felt Esdeath's hand caress his breast.

"You are right, it does seem silly for River and I to travel all the way to a place as quant as this. We came looking for one more potential recruit for my special police force, the Jaegers. And I think you were just what we were looking for, isn't that right, River?"

River didn't seem to hear her.

"Besides, I know River enjoys the rustic charm of the Northern Region, and I do my best to please my subordinates to ensure their loyalty" Esdeath continued. She then again leaned into Tatsumi's ear, stroking her finger across his jaw line. "…as I will do for you."

Her touch sparked an electric sensation from his chin that spread to both sides of his back, her cold, icy breath chilling his ear creating a juxtaposition of feeling, indescribable because of his inexperience.

"Go to sleep, Tatsumi. You can relax to my touch. Dream of ice, blood, sensuality and cold steel" Esdeath's soft voice crooned, her cold breath sending sleepy shivers down his arms.

Tatsumi couldn't control himself anymore. He drifted to the sleeping world; Esdeath's words a mumbling echo to his ears.

 _I will possess you._

…

The gray tundra has the ability to cool the mind, lift the spirits and destroy the body. Twilight is when the snow is most cool, the sky most grey, and the trees most dark and foreboding. The wolves watch for fresh meat and the wind cries like a banshee. The banshee will find you. It will consume you, freeze you and burn you.

" _Gosh, it's so pretty."_ thought Tatsumi. He was looking outside the carriage window, the carriage already stopped to let its passengers out. Tatsumi exited the carriage and followed Esdeath and River to the camp.

"I don't mean to pry, Esdeath but… why did you want to make camp here outside the village when you could have just booked a room at an inn or something?" Tatsumi asked.

"Well…" Esdeath rubbed Tatsumi's hair and smiled. "I like the peace and quiet of the tundra. It reminds me so much of… myself. The sharp allure, the ice, how only the fittest creatures survive here, it all provides a good opportunity for introspection, which I don't get in the bustle of the Capitol."

Tatsumi didn't exactly like the sound of her statement, but decided to pass it off as banter.

" _But still, I better watch myself with this woman_ " he thought to himself.

"The more logical reason, however…" Esdeath continued; "is that I had no place to keep my dragon in the village. The villagers would get angry and there was no room to put him."

The trio continued walking, the snow crunching beneath their boots, when they reached the camp after a moment's walk. A large black form swooped down from above, surprising Tatsumi, who drew his sword.

"Tatsumi, _wait."_ River ordered.

It was the first time River spoke to Tatsumi directly, so Tatsumi stopped, not taking his eyes off the creature.

"Excellent, Talon. Your master is grateful for your obedience." Tatsumi heard Esdeath say. "Now, _down._ "

The dragon slowly descended to its stomach, the perfect blanket of snow below him suddenly becoming a loose jigsaw puzzle, exposing mud and dead grass beneath. Esdeath tossed a large piece of dried meat into its mouth, which it swallowed in one gulp.

"Now, _go._ " Esdeath ordered.

The dragon got up to its feet and after a few flaps of its wings, the dragon ascended into the cloudy sky. Tatsumi watched all this unfold in bewilderment. He had seen plenty of danger beasts before, but never a creature like Talon. However, that was not the end of the amazement he felt at that moment. Esdeath's domineering aura had returned, capturing the attention of Tatsumi, River, Talon, perhaps even the heavens themselves. The wind blew through the pine trees, giving the impression of the trees literally bending to her will, kneeling servants at the feet of the king.

" _This woman never ceases to amaze me"_ Tatsumi recognized. " _She makes me feel so afraid and attracted at the same time._ "

Esdeath turned back to Tatsumi, the determination never leaving her eyes. She seemed like she could dominate the top of Mount Olympus itself, that she could violate the stars and make them shine even brighter, that she could even strike the sun if it insulted her, cutting it into two with a single swipe of her cold steel rapier. This was the look she gave when she expected to be obeyed, and compliance was the only path, even in a world of many choices and decisions.

"Tatsumi!" she stated in bold urgency.

Tatsumi instinctively sheathed his sword and stood up straight.

"Yes, Lady Esdeath! I mean- Esdeath!"

"You are to sleep in my tent with me tonight. We will leave for the Capitol by tomorrow morning. And you are not to call me Lady Esdeath ever again, or…" her domineering presence was replaced by a more stimulating, sinful aura "…I will punish you myself" she said with an ominous grin.

"Y-yes! Esdeath!" Tatsumi exclaimed, wondering if being punished by Esdeath could really be all that bad. He then shook his head.

" _No, what am I thinking, punishment is bad not good!_ "

…

"You don't mind us… sleeping like this right?"

Tatsumi thought about Esdeath's question for a moment. While he wasn't wholly comfortable with Esdeath using him as a body pillow, sniffing his hair every few minutes, it did indeed feel nice. And even though Esdeath's bed and tent were made of ice, the layers of warm wool blankets and Esdeath's arms kept him warmer than he had been for three days.

"No, I don't… really mind" Tatsumi answered.

"Thank goodness" Esdeath sighed, nuzzling her face into Tatsumi's neck.

"Uh Esdeath, um… I'm not really tired tonight. Can I go outside for a moment?"

Silence.

"Esdeath…?"

Tatsumi heard her sleepily mumble something, but he could tell from the steady rise and fall of her deliciously soft chest that she was already asleep.

"It's gonna be a long night" Tatsumi lamented to himself.


	3. The General

"Good morning, Tatsu-bunny…"

Tatsumi knew waking up next to a voluptuous young woman and her affectionate words is one of the ultimate fantasies of every young man. However, falling asleep in Esdeath's arms was a very nerve-racking experience for him, and he spent almost the entire night wide awake. The night was made only worse by Esdeath's frequent slumberous mumblings. While most of what she said was completely insensible, there were moments when Tatsumi could swear he heard her say things such as "you look so cute in those chains, Tatsu-bunny", "I love it when you whimper", and the occasional "Ohhh, Tatsumiiii…"

"Mornin'" Tatsumi groaned.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Esdeath, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah" Tatsumi lied.

"The dragon is ready and everything is packed, Lady Esdeath" called River's voice from outside.

"Good, thank you River" acknowledged Esdeath, her commanding tone returning.

"We must return to the Capitol now, Tatsumi" Esdeath ordered. "I recommend that you reacquire your shirt before leaving my tent.

Confused, Tatsumi looked down only to see his bare chest. His gaze returned to Esdeath, not knowing what to say.

"I was curious" Esdeath stated. "I wanted an idea of what you would look like naked"

"Don't sound so matter of fact about it!"

"It was for… your profile papers"

Tatsumi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lying on her lap was fine, even though he was forced to do it, sleeping with her was alright, Tatsumi could get used to that, but now this? Despite her beauty and affection for him, he had to show her that there were boundaries in this relationship, and that she needed to respect them.

"Esdeath" Tatsumi said, his eyes stern and unmoving from Esdeath's.

Esdeath only stared at him, her face completely emotionless.

"Please know, I hold you in the greatest respect. If it weren't for you, I would have had to travel to the Capitol on foot. And thanks to you, my chance of success when I get to the Capitol has increased greatly. But please, don't…" Tatsumi's hands were shaking, he feared he was acting very ungrateful to this woman who he owed so much. "… Don't take off my clothes without asking…"

Esdeath was silent for only a moment, but if felt like several minutes to Tatsumi.

"The last person to refuse me something I wanted- no, needed- died beautifully" Esdeath remembered aloud, her poker face remaining. She stood up out of the bed. "I formed a ball of ice inside her stomach. I made it project in different places, so that it looked like a leave less tree, and her organs were impaled on the branches with the trunk forced out of her vagina. It all happened so quickly that it seemed like she just… imploded. And the next thing I knew, she looked like a Christmas tree. Her body parts the ornaments, and her head the star on top. I was, I think… 17 at the time."

Tatsumi was speechless. How could a woman so gorgeous be so cruel? His first impression of her was of a dazzling young woman who was direct with her feelings; a woman who was stern yet affectionate when appropriate. But now that image seemed to be degrading much too quickly, it didn't feel real.

Tatsumi quietly gasped when Esdeath's hand touched his cheek, slowly stroking down towards his chest.

"I'm sorry, Tatsumi. Please don't get the wrong idea, I would never harm a hair on your head like that, I was just remembering something, and accidently let it aloud" she confessed, finding his shirt in the corner of the tent and tossing it to him. "Forgive me. And I will take you up on your request; it may have been too soon for me to have taken your shirt off like that."

The sinking feeling in Tatsumi's chest dissipated slightly, but he still felt unsure of what he had gotten himself into.

"Of course, you can tear my clothes off me all you want, as long as we are in a private setting" Esdeath proclaimed, attempting to comfort him.

But something still ate at Tatsumi's mind, he had to ask.

"What did… that woman you killed… what did she do?"

He thought he could see anger alight in Esdeath's eyes, but it was gone in a split second.

"She… it's not important" Esdeath replied. "But we need to leave, now. Pack up the blankets and pillows, we will depart the second you finish packing.

After brushing his teeth with water from his canteen, Tatsumi packed the pillows and blankets in a large box, which River strapped to Talon's back with the rest of the luggage. Esdeath mounted onto the dragon's saddle, helping Tatsumi up and River following behind. Esdeath insisted on Tatsumi holding on to her waist, explaining that it was necessary to avoid falling off. Tatsumi didn't believe her, but held on anyway.

"Now, Talon, _go!"_ Esdeath urged, swinging the reins.

The dragon roared in response and flapped its wings, sending snow flying in all directions. As Talon became airborne, Tatsumi realized that Esdeath was right; he needed to hold on to her to avoid falling. When he got used to the feeling of air blowing past him and the rocking of the dragon's great black wings, Tatsumi slowly craned his neck to look behind him. River was seated in front of the luggage, holding tight to one of the spikes on Talon's rough back instead of Tatsumi, eyes shut tight and hair flowing disorderly from the wind.

" _He must be really stubborn in his dislike of me"_ Tatsumi noted to himself. " _Wonder what the hell his problem is._ "

Tatsumi looked forward again. Even when he couldn't see her face, he could feel her domineering presence again. It was times like this that made him feel like she could take on the world without even trying, and not a single drop of her own blood would be spilled in the battle. Cowards and braves alike would be struck with fear and awe when they saw her, their deaths would stand insignificant next to her dominant stance. She was the glory and thrill of the fight, personified.

" _God help me, she's beautiful. I can't help it; her allure and charm have this affect on me that I can't explain. I know she seems a bit crazy, but she genuinely cares about me, and I like that" Tatsumi admitted to himself._

…

The countless buildings seemed to stretch out to cover the entire land, looking like red squares from Talon's altitude. In the center was the residence of the Prime Minister and the Emperor, a titanic palace. The green domes reminded Esdeath fondly of Tatsumi's eyes- those lovely, large green orbs. Her center always wanted to burst when she thought about him, her Tatsumi, the first young man to ever make her feel this way.

" _I used to think that these feelings would make me weak. However, now that they have taken control over my heart, they may grant me a new, different kind of strength. I cannot wait until this happens."_

Her thoughts returned to Tatsumi.

" _His potential is astounding. He took down an earth dragon in Fisher Village all by himself. The fact that it was one of the rarer, stronger breeds of earth dragon makes his feat all the more impressive. I cannot wait to test his ability myself tomorrow."_

Even though it was raining, the Capitol looked even bigger than in the rumors Tatsumi heard at his village. Talon landed on a large balcony in the Emperor's palace. Esdeath attempted to dismount first, but Tatsumi's arms were still wrapped around her. Esdeath turned her head to face Tatsumi.

"As much as I want you to continue touching me Tatsu-bunny, I need to give getting off this creature to report to the Prime Minister higher priority than both of our…" Esdeath flashed her sinful smile. "…physical desires…"

Tatsumi blushed heavily and quickly stuttered; "No th-that wasn't what I w-was thinking, I-I didn't know you wanted to go down so soon that's all."

River coughed, but Esdeath pretended not to hear it.

"River, send for a rider at once. Tell him to go retrieve Ieyasu from Fisher Village immediately. Afterwards you are free to do whatever you wish" Esdeath commanded.

"I shall do so at once, my lady" River responded.

Esdeath hopped off her dragon and promptly made way inside the palace. Tatsumi followed, but not before watching Talon flew away, disappearing behind the wall surrounding the palace.

" _That dragon must be very loyal for Esdeath to trust him enough to never leash him"_ Tatsumi reflected.

The Emperor's throne room was almost as grandiose as he had previously visualized. The room felt much more like a wide hall with a high roof, such was the size of the throne room. However, he had not known that the current Emperor was a child. He was also ignorant of the fact that the country was under control by a Prime Minister until today, as Esdeath gave him a brief overview of the politics of the country. The Emperor was seated in his gold throne at the north end of the hall, his face trying to possess the same powerful expression as those seen in the paintings of the former emperors that hung on the walls to the left and right. He reminded Tatsumi of a piglet practically drowning in royal clothes too big for it. Behind the throne, away from the light stood a bearded man who almost wouldn't have been noticeable if it weren't for his enormously rotund shape and incessant chewing of a piece of raw meat. He reminded Tatsumi of a great hog feeding off pork sausage.

"We are glad you have you return to us, General Esdeath" the emperor blankly stated, as if he were reading lines off paper.

" _Esdeath is a_ _ **general?!**_ " Tatsumi realized. " _This whole time I thought she was just some kind of imperial officer or something."_

Esdeath took her cap off her head and kneeled. Witnessing Esdeath kneel to the Emperor and the Prime Minister felt like seeing a wolf grovel in front of a dirty rodent to Tatsumi. Nevertheless, he did the same.

"I am delighted to report that my mission was a success" proclaimed Esdeath. "I have found an excellent candidate to join my Jaegers in the fight against Night Raid."

The Prime Minister crept out of the shadows with a new piece of beef in his hand.

"What teigu does he possess?" He inquired from Esdeath.

"He holds claim to no teigu at the moment" answered Esdeath. At seeing the Minister's eyebrow raise, she continued; "he holds vast potential for a man his age. He has honed his skills hunting countless danger beasts. I watched him with my own eyes take down a special variant of earth dragon by himself in less than ten seconds of counting. He also will prove himself in other, more _immediate_ concerns."

Tatsumi could feel the Prime Minister's dark gaze swallow him, scrutinizing him. After a short silence, the Minister spoke.

"I can see he is skilled in fighting. But what are these immediate concerns that you speak of?"

Esdeath did not hesitate.

"He is to be my partner in love, Prime Minister Honest. He meets all of the requirements I have mentioned before."

Tatsumi felt something warm in his chest and his face get hot.

" _So Ieyasu was right, she does want me. I guess I should have known all along"_ he thought.

"I trust in your judgment, General Esdeath. You may do as you wish with him. You both are dismissed" Prime Minister Honest said.

When Tatsumi and Esdeath left the throne room Tatsumi felt like a great pressure left his shoulders. He definitely did not want to be in a room with Prime Minister Honest again anytime soon.

"Esdeath, how do you feel about that Prime Minister… Honest, was it?" Tatsumi asked, wondering if she thought of the Prime Minister any less than he did.

Esdeath looked at Tatsumi, smiling.

"I know I take orders from him, but you don't have to be jealous, Tatsu-bunny."

Now Tatsumi was getting annoyed.

"No, I'm just wondering if you see him as a superior to you. Seeing you bow to anyone, especially someone like _him_ … it doesn't sit right with me."

"Aww, how cute. I knew you'd open up to me eventually, Tatsu-bunny."

"Oh my god, just answer me."

"Ooh, temper, temper" teased Esdeath, lightly flicking his forehead. "Don't worry; I know he's a slimy little weakling. However, he allows me to crush rebellions, fight countless battles and kill as many people as I want."

Tatsumi could relate to Esdeath's love of battle, but he wasn't sure he could get behind such a love for taking the lives of others. However, Tatsumi felt that she did not truly enjoy killing other human beings. He could not comprehend how anyone could truly take pleasure in ending other lives.

" _She must say these things as a front to hide her true guilt over hurting so many human beings_ " Tatsumi hoped. _"That's the only reason I can imagine why someone would say that they enjoy killing people."_

"Where are we going, anyway?" Tatsumi asked.

Esdeath only chuckled ominously.

"Where are we going Esdeath?"

"Well… we both have no immediate business to finish… and River's gone, we're all alone…"

Tatsumi felt his chest well in excitement but his heart sink at the same time.

"…there's only one place we can go, Tatsu-bunny…"

"N-no, please…"

"My chambers, Tatsumi" Esdeath stated, grabbing him by the hand.

"…and you-" her grip on his hand got tighter.

"Can't-" her grip made his knuckles crack.

"Stop me." Tatsumi now thought his hand was going to burst.

They entered her chambers and she quickly led him to her bedroom. Grabbing him by the throat, Esdeath forced him onto her bed. She threw her cap to the cold tile floor and leaned in to lick his cheek when Tatsumi placed his finger across her grinning lips.

"Esdeath, please, I don't want this yet" Tatsumi thought saying "yet" would make her think he promised to let her have her way with him later, which would delay his predicament further. "I'm not ready; after all, I've only known you for two days."

Esdeath took the hint, to Tatsumi's pleasant surprise.

"Tatsumi, do you remember what I said to you when we first met?" Esdeath asked, straddling his waist.

"Yeah, that was only two days ago."

"I said that I will satisfy you and you will satisfy me." Esdeath slid of his waist. "If pleasuring you with my body will not satisfy you yet, than I refuse to do so. I want everything we do to leave us both satisfied, not just myself."

" _She can be selfless, it seems"_ Tatsumi thought.

"However…" Esdeath countermanded.

Tatsumi wasn't prepared. Esdeath's soft, cool lips were speaking in front of him one moment, the next; they were implanted on his own. Not exactly used to being kissed out of the blue, Tatsumi just stared wide-eyed at Esdeath's closed eyes. Her soft, porcelain-gray gradient skin filled his vision, and he could feel her inhale through her nose, as if he emanated a special rare scent only when he had her lips connected with his own. Tatsumi gained the courage to close his eyes, keeping them open slightly. He opened his mouth to return the kiss, when her head, that sinfully alluring head of hers, retracted from his view. Tatsumi felt himself get turned over on his side as she rested his leg on his, holding him close to her breast, Tatsumi's crown nestled comfortably under Esdeath's chin.

Somehow, Tatsumi slept that whole night.


	4. Your Slave

There is a lemon in the beginning.

Tatsumi never realized how grandiose Esdeath's bedroom was until he awoke that morning. The entire room encaptured Esdeath's style, the snow-white walls, the blue tapestries, even the window panes seemed to be dyed blue. It all reflected her mesmerizing elegance, with the only reminder of her brutality being the collar resting on the floor, attached to the left wall by a chain. Tatsumi squinted to the grandfather clock on the right wall and noticed it was 7:30. He slowly inched his way to his edge of the bed, hoping to wash up and take a morning walk. However, Esdeath's arms dragged him back to her bosom as she softly muttered in her slumber, her hold on him tighter.

"Esdeath, I uh…" Tatsumi whispered, unsure if she was awake. "I think we should, uh, go…"

Tatsumi felt Esdeath sniff his hair, than inhale his scent in a blissful sigh.

"Good morning Tatsu-bunny, shall we shower together before we go out, my handsome slave?"

"No, I don't want to shower together. And I'm not your handsome slave" Tatsumi pouted.

"Fine. I thought you would say that" Esdeath sighed. "Slave."

"I'm not your slave!"

"Slave…" Esdeath sang.

"How am I your slave!?"

Esdeath flicked Tatsumi's forehead.

"Don't take it so seriously, you are nothing like my pets, I don't truly think of you as a slave" Esdeath assured. Leaning in to his ear, her hand on his throat, she continued. "You're just so irresistible when you resist me."

His heart became a familiar mix of unfamiliar contradicting emotions. Sometimes he did not know how to feel when he with her. He then inhaled sharply when her knee brushed a part of him he was unsure if he wanted touched.

Esdeath's eyes went wide for a moment, her sultry grin still plastered onto her face.

"Did our slumber together excite you this time, Tatsumi?" Esdeath teased, tracing her finger down Tatsumi's middle.

"St-stop" Tatsumi faltered, his hand covering his morning breath.

"I am well aware of what we went over last night Tatsu-bunny, but..." She reached her other hand under his shirt, caressing his perfect, toned chest and suddenly scratching it. "We can still do other things..."

Tatsumi didn't know what he wanted at the moment. He didn't even know if he wanted her to stop. Perhaps she was an ice-cold succubus that bewitched him, or she was simply a vulture taking advantage of something already laid bare to her in his heart.

"Remember, Tatsumi, I'm doing this because I can see it's what you truly want."

She watched the dazed look on his face grow redder, more clouded. Then she began to unbutton his pants with smooth precision.

"I spared no expense researching how to please a lover when I finally found him. While I am no stranger to genitalia, pleasuring them is a whole other world that I am hoping you can... teach me to become accustomed to."

"Esd- Esdeath..." Tatsumi breathed.

Tatsumi's pants now unzipped, Esdeath ripped open his underwear, the sharp sound seeming to echo in the cold, open room.

"I _love_ what I am seeing Tatsumi" confessed Esdeath, her grin now transformed into a smirk.

Tatsumi couldn't even think. All he desired now was the pleasure that he knew was promised to envelop him, to send him diving deep into dark, pristine waters.

Esdeath's touch felt gloriously sinful. The carnal feeling erupted down Tatsumi's spine, his mind puzzled but his body steadfast.

Her hand around his member, she commanded; "tell me to do it."

"D-do it..."

"What was that, I couldn't hear it."

Tatsumi gulped, his mouth dry.

"Do it."

"I will need more detail than that."

Tatsumi was silent for a minute, his heavy breathing could be heard throughout the room. But then he looked forward to his new lover, a new, a bold look taking over his eyes.

"Pleasure me with your mouth, Esdeath."

"Good boy."

The feeling was of the many new, unusual sensations that Tatsumi seemed to be experiencing more and more often. He let out a shaky breath just from the feeling of her lips. He groaned with every swirl of her tongue. Her tantalizing fingers on his masculine orbs forced him to moan. Every minute made him want to open his mind to the sheer amount of pleasure he was receiving. If he didn't focus, this moment would degrade to a quiet memory. Quivering, shaking, his inexperience forced him to end it soon.

"Esd- Esdeath- wait"

"Mmmmm?"

"I'm going to-"

Tatsumi struggled out a groan, his torso shaking and hip bucking. The slight suctions he felt told him his essences were now to be gone inside of her, her control over his entire body represented to him in her sinfully alluring display.

Esdeath got up, holding out her two fingers, her own essences dripping.

"I couldn't help but pleasure myself amidst all that noise you were making" she revealed.

At that moment the clouded face, the recumbent position, and the submissive aura of Tatsumi pleased her dominant side. She could do anything to him now, he was all hers, and hers alone. She held her hand closer to his face.

"Who do you belong to Tatsumi."

"Y-you."

"Who can you not live without, Tatsumi."

"You, E-Esdeath."

"Who will cherish and love you forever, Tatsumi."

"You."

"Who?"

"You, Esdeath."

"Now suck."

His body moved on it's own, as the calf instinctively feeds from its mother's utters. Her moans excited him, he wanted to please her more. But alas, all things must end.

Esdeath removed her fingers from his mouth, a strand of saliva tracing along his scratched chest like a strand of web.

"Good boy" she praised with a dominant smile. "Very good boy."

...

Tatsumi dreamed of a dolphin made of ice, exploding from the waves and diving again. As the creature closed the distance, Tatsumi could hear screams and whispers, getting louder and louder. Gracefully, the dolphin continued swimming, diving and exiting the water. The screams died down, only to give way to the terrible whispers. The whispers were insensible, but Tatsumi felt he was dangerously close to understanding their meaning. The dolphin came closer, but it's form was no longer recognizable. It was now a wolf. The sea became Tatsumi's old village, the snow falling in a blizzard. The wolf's dark shape appeared and it's bright white eyes flashed. It slowly stood on its hind legs, suddenly human-like in posture. The snout protruded even longer, and its glowing eyes drew all of the bravery, strength, and power from Tatsumi. It's back stooped slightly, it continued staring him down, until all that was left was fear and bloodthirst. The bloodthirst that came back to Tatsumi like an old friend.

 _Kill._

The gentle breeze in his face woke Tatsumi up for the second time that day. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a fully dressed Esdeath blowing on his face.

"Good morning again" Esdeath greeted. "Did you enjoy our little... escapade so much that you fell back to sleep?"

Tatsumi smiled genuinely for the first time in three days, causing Esdeath's heart to flutter.

"Sure did" he admitted.

"I noticed you talking in your sleep. You said 'yes' at one point before I woke you up. You were obviously dreaming of me, weren't you."

Tatsumi thought about it, but his dream had already faded away. He was still unsure of why he had felt so ready to kill something at that moment.

"Yeah, I guess I was."

Red faced, Esdeath strode to the door, adjusting her cap.

"Come, Tatsu-bunny. Brush up and change. Let's get you your new teigu."

Tatsumi suddenly felt excited. He had completely forgotten about teigus since their mentioning at the meeting with the Emperor. Receiving a powerful weapon had always been his dream, reading stories and manga in his village had only further fueled his fantasy. Now, he could tell Ieyasu that he had ridden a dragon, been in the Emperor's throne room _and_ gained possession of a super weapon.

"Yeah, can't wait!" he exclaimed.

...

"We currently have eighteen teigus in our possession, Tatsu-bunny" informed Esdeath, walking into the armory with her arms around Tatsumi's shoulders. Licking his ear, she continued. "Enter the room two doors to your left and you will find one of the rooms where we keep our teigus."

The guard in front of Teigu Storage 1 hurriedly unlocked the vault door and opened it.

"A good morning to you, General Esdeath" he said nervously.

"Polish your boots, soldier" replied Esdeath, not even giving him a glance.

Inside, the shelves held a strange assortment of weapons, jars, shields, sets of armor, and other gadgets. Most of the items did not even resemble what Tatsumi imagined teigus to look like. One of the teigus on a shelf even paralleled in appearance to a book.

" _What's someone gonna do with that?"_ Tatsumi thought. " _Read someone to death?"_

However, one item caught his eye. A dark bow strung with a golden thread sat in a corner. The many marks and scratches etched into the material showed that it held many users before it. No arrows accompanied it, but Tatsumi believed he wanted it.

"Esdeath, what is that bow over there?" Inquired Tatsumi.

"Last time I checked, it's name and all of it's specialties were still being researched. All I know is that it was recently taken from a dead Night Raid member." Esdeath explained. "However, I do not think that archery really fits your fighting style."

Tatsumi did not take his eyes off of it.

"Yeah, but... it looks so cool- ow!"

"Just because you like a weapon's aesthetics does not mean it is right for you" Esdeath scolded, rubbing the spot on his buttocks that she pinched.

"You could have told me that sooner!"

Tatsumi realized that Esdeath was right, if he were going to choose a weapon, he would have to put more time into making his decision.

"Most teigu-users find their weapons because the teigu chooses _them"_ Esdeath explained. "I'm sorry, I should have told you that before you began to browse. I know the Demon Extract called for me, I knew what weapon I was to get because I could hear it speak to me."

"That's just creepy."

"Don't be afraid, if the weapon chooses you, then you shouldn't feel any fear."

"I can't hear any voices in here."

They browsed two more teigu storage rooms but Tatsumi could not find a suitable weapon. Steadily growing in frustration, Tatsumi finally browsed through all the different rooms, with no weapon claiming him.

"Strange" Esdeath observed. "I thought for sure you would have the strength to procure a weapon, or at least get a good feeling about one. But they all refused you."

Tatsumi's eyes grew dark with disappointment.

Then a large grin grew on Esdeath's face.

"Unless..." She retorted. "You are only compatible with one of the more secret teigus. And if you are..."

She bit down on Tatsumi's ear, blushing at his yelp of pain.

"...it would mean that you're more like me than I thought."

Tatsumi wasn't sure if he could possibly be compatible with the mystery teigu, he didn't think he and Esdeath were similar at all.

"I... I guess I'll give it a try" he said slowly.

Esdeath grabbed his hand and led him away from the three storage rooms and into a dark corridor. As they ran she explained that they would have to reach the end of the west hall to arrive at the vault. Tatsumi observed the many barrels of gunpowder stored in the various rooms both left and right of him.

"So is this super-secret teigu explosive?" He asked.

Esdeath only chuckled in response. Eventually Esdeath seemed to grow impatient, and her pace quickened.

"I really hope this works out, Tatsu-bunny" she proclaimed, the pair of them practically running now.

Tatsumi began to feel apprehensive about the ordeal. Anything to excite a woman who makes frozen Christmas trees out of humans can't be good, he reasoned. The fact that it was apparently hidden at the end of a dark corridor at one of the lower floors of the palace only strengthened Tatsumi's wariness. However, his curiosity made him push on with his blue vixen of a lover.

They reached the end of the hall after a minute of running, Esdeath excitedly blabbering to Tatsumi about the teigu the whole way. The vault door looked exactly like doors of the last three storage cells they had visited before. It was round, metal, and needed a key inserted in the middle to open. A crank on the left wall opened the vault after it was unlocked.

"Oh, no" exclaimed Tatsumi. "How are we gonna open it with no key."

Esdeath punched through the circular door and ripped it off its hinges.

"Oh" stated Tatsumi. " _A lot of times I forget that she can kill me with her bare hands"_ he continued to himself.

The inside of the vault was dark. Esdeath patted the wall for a moment until she found the switch to activate the light. A dim lamp on the ceiling revealed a vase set on a mossy pedastal below, light blue and unimposing. But Tatsumi felt a strange mixture of dread and excitement when he laid his eyes on it.

 _Come closer_

"What the hell was... did you hear that?" Tatsumi asked.

"All I hear is the wind blowing through the vents, Tatsu-bunny."

 _I said_ _ **come**_

His hands seemed to have minds of their own. They reached for the vase like the starving man reaches for the fruit. Tatsumi heard the most horrible gurgling noise alarm in his ears, he glanced at Esdeath but she didn't seem to notice. As his hands lifted the vase, the gurgling began to create words, almost impossible to discern from the terrible sound.

 _My madness is yours_

The vase was carried to his quivering lips, his scream drowned by the burning cold fluid hosted inside.

 _Yes_

His vision clouded around the edges, darkness crept into his sight like water spreading through cloth.

"Es- help" he coughed.

 _Inject me_

His stomach filled with warmth, which graduated to a cold so freezing that it soon burned with a chilled fire. The pain spread through both sides of his back, The fluid now fully dissappated from his throat, he could finally scream.

 _Hurt you hurt me hurt kill kill kill_ _ **kill**_

Tatsumi could no longer see, all his senses were numbed so that all he could feel was the internal pain, his organs screaming for mercy like tea kettles.

 _No you no me no us yes us_

The sensations began to slow, Tatsumi could now speak, although the pain continued.

 _I hurt you with no ice start to- I will_ _ **kill**_

"NO!" Tatsumi screamed, his voice echoing through the cellar.

 _Find him find you find her kill him kill her kill you kill me kill me me me I like it_

"I-"

 _You like she like it he like it_

"Destroy... you!"

 _I feel her intestines_ _ **destroy**_

"I'm the one... I-"

 _Destroy my hell it will be your hell now_

"I DOMINATE."

 _I-_

"I AM THE ONE WHO CONTROLS YOU, YOU CAN'T DESTROY ME."

 _Test her fear for you to be the only one to eat flesh_

"YOU ARE MY FOOD, MY FLESH I OWN."

Esdeath had a good idea of what she was seeing. Her own teigu attempted to drive her mad at first as well, but this teigu of Tatsumi's seemed to be much worse. It seemed to be manipulating his already existing fears and anxieties, to kill him from the inside. However, he was quickly gaining control over the teigu,

" _His potential is amazing; I have no doubt that he will take control of the teigu"_ Esdeath reflected to herself with a smile. _"When he tames his weapon he will inevitably surpass me in strength one day."_

Suddenly frost flooded the walls, icicles formed on the ceiling in less than a moment. Esdeath stared wide-eyed at Tatsumi, his appearance had changed drastically. He was on all fours, his heavy breathing slowly calming to a normal pace. She could count four misty protrusions on Tatsumi's back, swaying left and right like tentacles. Ice water dripped down his body, freezing on contact with the floor. His shirt was ripped to pieces, the bits of cloth frozen into the walls and floor. As he carefully stood up to face Esdeath, she could see the frosty protrusions weren't the end of it. Blue veins etched through his body, all seeming to sprout from the left side of his neck, and continuing to the left of his face. His now silver hair clasped to his head, specks of frost steadily grew on his crown. He gazed at her with glowing hazel eyes, a powerful look that sent proud shivers down her spine.

"I destroyed its will Esdeath" he stated weakly. "I have.., controlled it-"

Tatsumi collapsed into Esdeath's arms unconscious, his cold breath tickling her chin.

"Rest Tatsumi, rest" Esdeath soothed. "This teigu will serve us well."

 _Possess your being_


	5. Ice King

No words could describe how proud Esdeath was of her Tatsumi. Although she had no doubt that he would successfully take control of his new teigu, seeing him post-transformation still astounded her.

" _He has no idea how special he must be to take on such an incredible weapon"_ Esdeath realized. _"The chance of compatibility for most ingrates is only one in a thousand."_

She could not wait until Tatsumi's power overcame hers. To have her subordinate, apprentice, and above all else lover overtake his mistress was one of Esdeath's ultimate fantasies.

She entered patient room 11 in the medical center just outside the palace. First she noticed Tatsumi sitting up on his bed, gazing out the window. She stepped closer to sniff his hair and pinch his cheek, her boots clacking on the white tile floor.

"Ow!" Tatsumi yelped.

Esdeath's heart warmed a little more, and she decided to let him know that.

"I _love_ it when you scream for me, baby."

Esdeath watched amusedly as Tatsumi's face reddened and he turned his head back to the window.

"Esdeath, I'm confused."

"About what?"

Tatsumi played with the blankets in his hands for a moment, and then relaxed his shoulders.

"I mean, what the hell happened back there?" he asked. "I know you said the teigu would choose me if I was the right user for it, but..."

His confused expression deepened, his hands clenching to fists.

"...that teigu tried to kill me. But after yelling at it or something, it stopped. Wh-why... what... this whole teigu thing makes no sense, it's so weird."

Esdeath realized that she had never given him a clear description of what his teigu was. Her chest sank with guilt, but again rose with pride.

" _He was able to dominate the teigu without even expecting what it would try to do to him"_ she realized. " _This shows how strong he inherently is._

She sat on the foot of the bed, caressing his toes through the white duvet sheets.

"Tatsumi, I must apologize. I sent you into a room with one of the most dangerous teigu without telling you it would attempt to possess you" she observed his handsome jaw drop. "But you must understand, I was so excited by the prospect of you taking this teigu that I completely forgot that you were ignorant of this information. I know, it is a poor excuse. But please forgive me, you are one of the few people I do not want angry with me."

Tatsumi stared down at his knees. After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Just tell me about the teigu. I need to know what the hell this thing is that's inside my own body."

Esdeath sighed. She knew he must still have his misgivings for her because of this. It was no matter, she reasoned. She would make all his doubts disappear... when he was ready.

"Your teigu is very powerful." Esdeath explained. "It is a variant of my teigu, the Demon Extract. It is made of the synthetic life force of the demonic danger beast of old, Scar mixed with the blood of the very same beast. When drunk by one with great strength and power, it will align itself with the user as a dog allies itself with its master. However, it always tests it's drinker before allowing itself to be controlled. It attempts to drive it's drinker to madness, taking advantage of any weaknesses in the individual's spirit, unleashing Scar's wrath on the person. That is what happened to you in the vault."

"You said that this... teigu is a variant of yours. How is mine different?"

Esdeath remembered fondly Tatsumi's distinct change after the teigu accepted him. The silver hair, glowering hazel eyes, bright blue veins underneath his face, especially the ruthlessness in his aura reflected the increased potential he now had thanks to the teigu. But what she remembered most were those... tentacles, those misty vectors that seemed to be made of frost.

"Your teigu... it's all very mysterious, there is little information in our archives of this weapon. Your teigu seems to transform the user upon activation. You... looked so... powerful, like you could destroy the world. I haven't felt an aura like yours in so long back there."

"So you don't know much about it."

"No."

Tatsumi sighed. He watched the birds outside bounce and chirp about some more. Then to his surprise his head suddenly hit the pillow behind him.

"Just imagine how much fun we'll have with you looking like that..." Esdeath rasped in his ear. "... _in bed._ "

"L-lookin' like what?"

Esdeath straddled his waist, hands on his chest.

"Seeing you transformed made me feel so..." She leaned in again. "... _hot"_

Tatsumi struggled to escape from her hold, exciting her even more.

"Yessss" she sighed.

"Esdeath."

"Doesn't this feel so arousing Tatsu-bunny?"

"Esdeath, we have more pressing things to talk about."

"Oh, yes, we can speak of things that excite my heart even more or we can relieve that arousal right _now."_

Esdeath dragged her tongue along his neck to his ear, scraping her teeth against his earlobe.

"Remember what we talked about two nights ago, Esdeath?" She heard Tatsumi ask.

She moved her hand away from his throat and sat on her knees next to him on the bed.

"I see" she answered. "In that case we should improve on our communication. When you feel ready..."

She caressed his leg over the cool sheets.

"Tell me."

Esdeath watched with amusement as Tatsumi, red faced, cutely nod his head.

"Anyway, I will answer your inquirement about your transformation only if you allow me to pleasure my own body as I explain."

Tatsumi suddenly looked up to Esdeath's face.

"Wh-what the hell is wr-"

"I can't tell you without relieving this- tension in my sexual organs."

"Never mind, forget it."

...

Tatsumi scrutinized the table as discreetly as possible, his gaze quickly moving left from right.

" _The blue one looks normal enough"_ he observed. " _So does the girl with the fat dog. But everyone else looks like a bunch of weirdos."_

Esdeath's special police force, the Jaegers, sat at the ornate hickory table, the lamination glistening from the afternoon sun through the skylight. A meeting was called that day for the Jaegers to meet Tatsumi.

"Jaegers, I would like you to get acquainted with Tatsumi" Esdeath proclaimed. "He is to join your ranks. He is the proud master of the Demon Extract Mark II, an exceptional warrior, and my Tatsu-bunny."

Tatsumi attempted to hide his reddened face with his sweater.

"He doesn't look too tough to me" claimed a monotone voice.

"T-T-Tatsu-bunny?!" snickered another.

"He is also my partner in love. If anyone harms a hair on his head outside of training I will personally operate on you in my torture chambers" he heard Esdeath say, welcoming his comrade's silence.

He gasped in surprise as his head was pulled from its shelter by the hair.

"Show everyone your sexy face, Tatsu-bunny" crooned Esdeath.

"BRAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA-"

CRACK

A frozen stake punched through the table, it's tip inches from a young man's face.

"Another outburst from you Wave and you will be gasping for air through your eye socket" Esdeath threatened.

Wave immediately groveled on his knees, apologizing to Esdeath and sobbing.

" _She must be a scary leader for that asshole to be crying like that"_ Tatsumi thought.

"Hello Tatsumi, my name is Seryu, it is a pleasure to meet you, fellow warrior for justice" a girl introduced herself, standing from her seat, carrying a dog in her arms.

"H-hello" Tatsumi replied.

A man in a gas mask stood up, his huge muscles flexing underneath his arms.

"Uh-I am Bols... I don't really talk to well with strangers..." His voice trailed off into a light mumble.

An expressionless girl raised her hand, a small cookie in her mouth.

"Kurome" she deadpanned "That is my name."

Her hand lowered and grabbed a canvas bag on the table.

"You can't have any."

Tatsumi didn't know what to think. He never met a group of people with such quirks and different personalities. Raising his hand in a greeting gesture, he stammered a hello.

"The young man who now has extra kitchen duties is Wave. He won't bother you anymore if his attacks on your precious head continue" explained Esdeath.

"I wasn't attacking him, I just thought it was funny that you call him..." Wave whined, and began to snicker. "TATSU-BUNNYYYY!"

A block of ice pushed Wave out the door, sending his arms and legs frozen against a wall in the hallway.

"You are to stay there for three days and nights to think about what you have done" stated Esdeath. "If you complete your punishment quietly, you will finish all the KP chores that have been left unfinished for you from those three days."

To Tatsumi's surprise, Wave stayed silent and lowered his head.

"Yes General."

Tatsumi couldn't help but feel pity for the boy. Staying completely still against a wall for three whole days seemed torturous, and from Wave's reaction, it seemed that he was used to such treatment. However, Tatsumi's first impression of Wace was less than stellar and he refused to forgive him.

"There are two more Jaegers for you to meet, their names are Run and Stylish. However, they are away on a mission as of now, you will have to become acquainted with him later" Esdeath told Tatsumi.

She then looked to the remaining Jaegers. "This meeting is now dismissed. A patrol is scheduled for tomorrow at seven am. You may all do as you wish until then."

Bols, Kurome, and Seyru rushed past them, unsettled by Wave's predicament. Esdeath grabbed Tatsumi by the hand and led him out to the hall, not giving Wave a single glance.

"Are you always like that to your subordinates?" Tatsumi asked.

"Only to the brash ones. Such immaturity cannot be tolerated in the ranks of any military force, and Wave knows that. Yet his outbursts continued so he was punished severely. That is all there is to it" answered Esdeath.

Tatsumi thought a moment, then spoke.

"Would you punish me if I was bad, Esdeath?"

"Of course. Although you are my lover showing favoritism and refusing to discipline you would only spread dissent through the ranks."

Tatsumi's heart sank slightly.

Her grip on his hand tightened.

"Oh... I see what you are saying now" she said grinning. Licking his ear, she continued "I didn't know you were into such things, Tarsu-bunny. We are truly made for each other, aren't we?"

Tatsumi's heart sank even more, contrasting with a swelling sensation in his crotch.

"T-that's not what I meant!"

She continued to lead him to the training yard, Tatsumi denying any masochistic feelings for her the whole way. After a few minutes' walk, they reached their destination.

"The grounds are unusually empty today, as I have reserved the area for my Tatsumi time" Esdeath proclaimed as they entered the training yard.

"I don't think you told me what we are doing here" stated Tatsumi.

Esdeath unleashed a grin that both aroused him and sent shivers down his spine.

"Oh, you'll find out."

A large icicle shot towards Tatsumi, which he barely dodged.

"Hey, what th-" his complaint was interrupted with another icicle, this time forming above him.

Tatsumi rolled out the way and drew his sword.

"Oh, I see" he realized with a grin. "We're training."

A smaller stake of ice projected to his stomach, which he promptly swung away with the flat of his sword, only to leave him open to another stake vectored for his head, which he leaned out the way from.

"Stop dodging, Tatsu-bunny" scolded Esdeath. "You are no longer a normal fighter, utilize the teigu, unleash the demon inside of you!"

A ball of ice the size of a wooden cart rushed to him, which he barely ran out the way from.

"I'm getting bored Tatsumi, stop running! Impress me!"

Esdeath's sudden bloodthirst surprised Tatsumi, he had never seen her like this.

" _She was so sweet and sensual just a moment ago, what happened?"_ he quickly thought.

Large shards of ice shot forward in front of him. He managed to dodge the first three, but not without having his right shoulder grazed. A frozen bowling ball punched into his stomach, knocking him three feet onto his back, his sword slipping from his hands. Four walls were summoned, boxing him in. Despite his eyes watering from the pain, Tatsumi noticed a large stake falling from above. It was going to land in the box and onto him; there was no way he could dodge.

" _What the hell am I gonna do?!"_ Tatsumi panicked.

 _Arise_

A familiar chilled heat arose from his spine, spreading through his back and to his fingertips. The cold returned. The burning cold was angered, blood was to be spilt.

Esdeath knew Tatsumi didn't consciously know how to summon his teigu. The only way she could get him to do so was to make him think he was about to die, then the demon in him would awaken instinctively to protect its master. The relationship of teigu and master was symbiotic, there was no way either would let the other die without reason. Seeing Tatsumi in his demonic form formed such an unfamiliar tension in her body. She knew she loved fighting strong opponents, but she had never lusted for one before. She devoured Tatsumi with her gaze, his vectors of frost suspending the stake that had unleashed his beautiful inner self, the demon that froze all. The one that impaled the living and violated the dead. The one who ravaged frigid earth with sword and spear in hand. The strength of his presence seemed to symbolize her hopes for him, his potential, his true inner strength, the violence he would soon learn to love. Her heart skipped a beat when his glowing hazel's swallowed her sky blues, his head unmoving.

" _Your mistake"_ he rasped.

Esdeath barely had time to grin.

The box shattered shortly before Tatsumi was propelled towards Esdeath by his vectors. Her rapier barely parried his hand, enclosed in jagged ice, from piercing her throat. At the same time, his left hook was prevented from hitting her head by a block of ice. The ice cracked, and Esdeath flipped herself away, retreating from an enemy for what felt like the first time in her life. Tatsumi's misty vectors projected toward her, chilling the air around them. To Esdeath's surprise, the projections simply passed through her, as if she were air. She could read from the widening of Tatsumi's expression that he momentarily shared in her shock.

"What were you trying to do Tatsumi, penetrate me?" she taunted.

Tatsumi glowered in response.

"I'm gonna do much more than fuck you now."

"Oh?"

Tatsumi's entire body blurred. Esdeath's eyes widened, unsure of what just happened.

" _Teleportation?"_ she wondered.

Her instincts screamed for her to turn around, but it was too late. She was pulled down to the ground by her hair, her back slamming into the wet sand beneath. A large icy block enclosed her waist to the ground. Expecting this, she punched the block, thinking it would shatter from the blow. However, it was left intact, and she realized she was trapped onto the sand, frost now beginning to form from the recent drop in temperature. The cold steel of Tatsumi's blade was felt on her throat and she relaxed, her adrenaline beginning to dissipate. Tatsumi stooped over her motionless body, his face emotionless. Her eyes followed the blue veins flowing down his face and neck, her breathing getting more and more labored from her lust.

"Your power... pleases me baby." she sighed.

She watched him stare her down, he seemed to trace his eyes down her curvaceous body, exciting her even more.

"Tatsumi, I don't know what you're doing, but I really like it."

His intent not showing on his face, he traced his blade down her middle until it hit the ice on her waist lazily, separating the fabric of her uniform in half, Esdeath watching him intently with her sultry grin. The next moment, Tatsumi was hit by a great ice pillar. To shocked to act, he flew back into the wall behind and struggled to move away. Esdeath's eyes narrowed in sharp satisfaction as he noticed the ice cuffs holding him in place against the cracked wall. Projecting small protrusions in all directions from her waist, she was able to smash herself free as the block shattered. She quickly stood up, hand resting on her hip.

"Don't forget, as of now, it is I who will dominate you" she proclaimed. "If you want to control me, you must force me to submit to your will through your sheer power."

Tatsumi tried to force his hands and feet through his frozen shackles, but they wouldn't budge. Grimacing, the veins in his head glowed brighter. After a brief struggle, he managed to crack his left cuff.

"I am much more experienced with my Extract than you are with yours. Consequently, my ice is stronger. You cannot hope for escape now" Esdeath explained, slowly striding to her prey.

Her words seemed to sink in, and Tatsumi relaxed his muscles. The new light in his veins faded, the deeper blue returning.

"That's a nice bra Esdeath" he stated.

Esdeath's grin widened.

"And if it weren't for your blade, you wouldn't be seeing it. That fact is one of the many reasons I am so... _sweltered_ for you right now" she replied. "It was not just your blade either, if I wasn't holding back, it would be you flashing what's under your clothes right now."

Tatsumi rewarded her with a sly smile.

"I can believe that."

Esdeath held her rapier to his throat.

"You have lost, admit your defeat."

"You got me, ice queen."

She slowly sheathed her sword as the light from his veins fully dissipated, and his brown eyes flooded with green again. His silver hair began to slowly fade to his natural brown.

"I sure have, my ice king."

Esdeath caught Tatsumi in her arms as he fell from the wall, his cuffs now gone.

"Despite the fact that this was a relatively short training session, I am more than satisfied by the rapid growth of your new abilities" she whispered in his ear.

"I could do another go, I think" Tatsumi whispered back.

"No, it is better that you rest. New teigus can be unpredictable and sufficient rest is invaluable when learning to use a one."

"Fine" he sighed, relieved for the deep gurgling in his head to be silenced.


	6. First Time

There is no greater pleasure than having a well-defined enemy.

Enemies push oneself to achieve; to strive to work for a goal, and motivate to undertake new experiences. The challenge of eliminating an enemy, to send them bleeding to the frozen river of the dead, unleashes more satisfaction than any other undertaking.

Tatsumi knew that he lacked an enemy.

An enemy to push him to his limits, to forge his soul, that is what he needed.

At least that is what Esdeath told him.

He definitely believed her, he had long known that a strong challenge makes or breaks a warrior. But the fierce look in her eyes as she preached this thrilled him. He wanted to impress this woman; to make her ambitions for him naught in vain. At the same time, he couldn't help but fear this excitement. Had this woman's feral allure began to influence him in such a short time? Or perhaps it was the teigu, Scar's frozen evil seeping into his heart like filth taints the river.

" _No, I'm me, same old me"_ Tatsumi assured himself. " _I'm Tatsumi, just Tatsumi."_

He often felt his thoughts stray away to Sayo and Ieyasu; not a day would pass when he didn't think about his two friends. Every night that he lay awake, slowly drifting away in Esdeath's arms, he would ponder what they were doing, what they would think if they saw him right now, and how they would react.

" _Sayo would tell me off, saying I just got lucky"_ he'd think every time. " _Ieyasu would be crazy jealous, this woman's chest is the best neck pillow a man can dream of_ "

Tatsumi ate breakfast with Esdeath in the Jaegers quarters the morning after his second transformation, an unfamiliar fire in Esdeath's eyes burning through his skin. Tatsumi set his cereal bowl down and spoke first.

"What are you looking at me for, ice queen."

Esdeath gulped down the last of her baked salmon.

"It's nothing. Just thinking about the adventure that awaits us soon."

"And what's that?"

Esdeath patted her chin with a cloth napkin though there was nothing on it that Tatsumi could see.

"You're first patrol begins in an hour today. Normally I do not join my subordinates in such meager tasks, but for you my Tatsu-bunny..." she gently scratched her fork across his arm, sending tingles down to his waist. "...I will be sure to... supervise your novice actions."

"Why am I not surprised."

Her eyes widened in feigned shock.

"Oh?" She teased. "I've heard that constant surprise in a relationship is what keeps it going."

The hickory table flipped on its side, cereal and silverware clattering onto the white tile. Esdeath reached her hand for Tatsumi's throat.

"Perhaps I can pleasantly surprise you right here baby, since you feel _so_ bored" she whispered in his ear, her knee brushing his inner thigh.

"Um... I d-don't know..." stammered Tatsumi. "And you know that's not what I meant" he continued.

"Give yourself to me baby, just this once."

"Stop it."

"Let me ravage you in your transformed state; I want that scary brown gaze devouring me as I take you...or to experiment, you can ravage _me_."

Tatsumi saw his chance.

"My eyes are green, and I'm not that scary."

Esdeath stopped all of her movement except for her knee, which continued caressing his crotch.

"I'm sorry, I never told you what you look like after you utilize your teigu" she said softly. "Would you like to know?" She tested.

"Not if you masturbate in front of me like you tried last time."

"I promise to contain myself today, don't fret."

She straddled his lap, resting her breasts on his face, chuckling as his head jerked away.

"Scar's Extract appears to make its host resemble Scar himself. Recordings from the First Age often describe him as a powerful being with bright brown eyes and big, _strong_ tentacles of ice" she leaned to his ear. "Do you understand where my sexual fantasies derive now, Tatsu-bunny?"

"No. Get on with it."

Chuckling, Esdeath continued; "When you change, you have the same eyes as he does; but the tentacles... are somewhat lacking their typical strength. They don't appear to be solid ice like in the ancient texts, only some kind of misty frost, like a northern fog. They are also unable to interact with other objects, other than making things colder and pushing you off the ground a bit."

Tatsumi thought back to his match with his lover yesterday. He remembered how he was unable to inflict damage to her with his vectors, yet was somehow able to use them to push off the ground for a quick burst of speed.

"You have bright blue veins too," she continued, tracing her finger down the left of his face and neck. "All... across... here..."

"Sounds gross."

"...I personally think they are there because your body is unused to the teigu. The more of Scar's power you use, the brighter they get, it seems. It reminds me of how fast the Prime Minister's blood flows just from walking."

"So the more power I use, the faster my blood flows, and the brighter my veins get. Kinda cool, but still gross."

Esdeath kissed his forehead, inhaling his hair's scent.

"Perhaps, Tatsu-slave" she happily sighed. "Anyway, I distinctly remember you teleporting behind me during our brawl. I find it hard to believe myself, but I guess teleportation is among your new abilities."

Tatsumi let out a low chuckle.

"No" he corrected. "I just used my vectors to push off the ground, just really quickly that time. I guess I was really fast that time, huh?"

Esdeath's wide grin unsettled him.

" _She's smiling over a fight she lost. She's so lovably crazy"_ he thought.

"That means you already have the control over your teigu to move almost as fast as the speed of light" she praised, licking her lips. "Your potential is astounding, one day you will be able to overtake me, dominate me, and then please me to the fullest."

" _What the hell?_ " Tatsumi thought.

...

The boredom that Tatsumi felt was like no other.

To stroll the streets with one of the most close-mouthed young women in the Capitol, while searching for seemingly non-existent criminals seemed terribly dull to him. The fact that Kurome appeared to dislike him only worsened his day.

While he originally thought he was going to patrol with Esdeath, she decided that getting acquainted with his fellow Jaegers took priority over her "Tatsumi-time." So, he became partnered with Kurome.

They stood on a street corner in front an abandoned building across a fruit market. As he was unused to large crowds, Kurome had to pull him out of the way of the many shoppers and wanderers. He was almost run over by a cart, and stuttered many an apology for stepping on a city-goer's shoe. And the whole time, his partner would eye him suspiciously, her grip on her pouch of snacks tightened. The two finally stood in silence, Tatsumi's attempts at conversation long abandoned.

To his surprise, Kurome spoke.

"We're being watched" she droned.

"Wh-what?"

Her thumb undid her sword from its sheath, her oil black eyes fixated on the market.

"Act normal. We don't want him to know we see him."

"How am I supposed to-"

"Sush. Don't stare at him for too long, but do you see that hooded man eating an apple?"

Tatsumi quickly scanned the crowd, but to his surprise, he actually noticed the target. He returned his gaze to a rat lazily nibbling on a piece of meat underneath a parked carriage.

"Yeah, saw him."

"Feign illness. When you are collapsed on the ground, I will carry you behind the building. In the alleyway you will activate your teigu and we will give chase to the hooded man."

"Uh, okay."

" _How do I pretend to be sick?"_ Tatsumi asked himself.

He grabbed his stomach and distorted his face.

"I've-I've gotta go..." he groaned. "...to the bathroom! Oh god, it _hurts."_

"Let me take you there then" Kurome monotoned as loud as she could.

She pulled him to the alleyway, Tatsumi yelping as she dragged him across the occasional glass shard. Entering the alley, Kurome smashed a window with the butt of her sword. She crawled in, Tatsumi following suit.

"What are we doing in here?" Tatsumi whispered, the floorboards creaking under his boots.

"I will take a peek out the window to get a heading on our guy. I want you to pursue him when I order you to."

"Alright, sounds good" he approved, the air chilling around him, black icicles quickly forming on the moldy ceiling.

Kurome stared at him wide-eyed. Tatsumi stared back, studying Kurome's change in expression as if it were a rare animal.

"What?" he questioned.

Kurome's poker face returned in an instant.

"Your teigu surprised me, is all."

Silence filled the chilled room for a moment, the bustle of the streets the only sound to be heard. Kurome stared out the boarded window, sunlight creeping through the cracks to shine on her self-enclosed face. Finally, her urgent voice filled the room.

"Found him. He's running through the alley next to the market. Capture him."

Tatsumi quickly scampered to the street, his excitement moving his legs for him. He crouched at the alleyway's exit, awaiting a gap in the street traffic. A gap presented itself, and he projected himself across the street towards the hooded figure, awarding those nearby with a sudden cold breeze. His form blurred right behind his target, the sudden cold intriguing the hooded man enough to turn around. His eyes widened as they rested on Tatsumi.

"Wh-what..."

Tatsumi briefly thought about how his form must strike fear into most others, but he would think about that later.

"Why were you watching us" he asked in a low voice.

To his surprise, he noticed the man grin underneath the hood.

"Secluding yourself here only makes my job easier" he grinning man taunted.

Tatsumi noticed the peculiar gloves adorning the man's hands. Set upon the man's fingertips were small horns. On the man's palms a red exterior blazed in contrast to his pale skin.

"Observe, you glow in the dark freak, I am the only person you will see who can kill you with some string."

Tatsumi leapt out of his reach, but a thin, poking sensation squeezed his middle and dragged him back.

"You seem interesting, but it's time for you to die" the hooded man's voice stated.

" _He seems to be pulling me along with some kind of wire"_ Tatsumi observed. " _But he's_ _much too cocky for his own good_."

Crystalline, jagged ice wrapped around his fist. Tatsumi chopped in front of him, hoping to cut the wire that kept him. His prediction was confirmed as the pressure on his torso quickly lessened.

"Okay, what the hell-" he shouted, before he dodged a blade swung from the right.

When one's life is attempted on for the first time, fighting instinct injects itself into the body. With this instinct often comes great, toxic anger. To kill another loses all abstract meaning, it transforms into a basic necessity, and bloodthirst is soon the only driving force remembered by the body.

 _Kill_

Tatsumi's grip on the man's face tightened, the screams bleeding into Tatsumi's heart like cherry juice in a cheese cloth. A savory taste dwelled in Tatsumi's mouth, intensified by the stubborn crunching in between his fingers. The deep gurgling echoed in his ears again, heat flooding into his fingertips.

 _Kill_

His own blood flowed down to his waist, his excitement reaching ambitious proportions. His breathing grew heavy, even though he was not being physically tested.

 _Yes_

He left hand descended, and was surrounded in wet warmth. The screams devolved to gasps. Why is there gasping? Stop gasping!

"Tatsumi."

 _Bothersome_

"Tatsumi."

 _Killed_

"Tatsumi."

 _Kill_

"Tatsumi!"

He jerked his head to his right. Kurome's dark, forbidding eyes told him all he needed to know. He begrudgingly pulled his hand from the wall, the wet suction confusing him.

"Kurome, why do they make the walls so soft-"

The ominous tingling spread through his shoulders, his fingers refused to move, nothing could make sense anymore. The mess' agonal gasps were all that distinguished it from the dead filth that lay strewn across the alleyway. Frozen blood preserved the debris, all Tatsumi could think of was how it was like an insect caught in sap.

"What did you do" Kurome stated.

"You said capture him so I-"

A flap of skin and hair dropped from the skullcap, grass and dirt being peeled to reveal rock underneath.

"OH GOD" screamed Tatsumi.

He moved to run, but his feet couldn't budge, they were frozen by the man's blood to the ground.

 _Feeling flesh from the bones_

"SHUT UP!"

He tried with all his strength, but his boots would not move.

 _Kill_

"I HATE YOU!"

Tatsumi couldn't feel anymore, his mind and body were numb, nothing could move him.

 _Cuuuk_

 _Cuuuk_

 _Cuuuk_

That reflexive gasping, the horrible breath of death, was all Tatsumi could hear before his vision went dark.

...

"Report, Kurome."

Kurome stood in front of Esdeath's desk, her bag of snacks held loosely between her fingers.

"No disturbances were found in our sector for the first two and a half hours of our patrol" she deadpanned, reaching for a cookie. "It was not until about 0900 when I realized we were being watched. A hooded figure standing by the fruit market on Royal street was analyzing our every move, I became suspicious. I ordered Tatsumi to pursue and capture the individual with his teigu. I am ignorant of what he did upon reaching the target, all I know is that despite my order to strictly _capture_ him, when I arrived on the scene, the target was smashed to a bloody pulp."

Esdeath grinned, her pride washing her face with new vigor.

"However," Kurome continued; "to say Tatsumi is feeling remorse for his actions is an understatement. After his rampage, he had some kind of breakdown."

Esdeath's smile faded.

"I stopped it before he did anything else, I chopped a pressure point on his neck. He is currently on a bed in the medical quarter-"

"Thank you Kurome. You are dismissed."

Kurome swallowed her cookie.

"Yes General."

...

His fitful sleep was filled with horrid dreams and visions. Oceans of blood and tundras of gore rushed past his vision, his memory threatened to unleash greater demons than the one inside him.

He awoke to cool skin and cold breath, a wet chill covering his eyes with every blink.

"You were crying in your sleep Tatsumi" he heard Esdeath's voice say. "Why is that."

Tatsumi brushed his arms from the warm duvet blankets and reached for her, his only comfort in a dying world.

"I can't use it anymore Esdeath. It makes me see and do things..."

The cool ball of comfort pulled out of his arms, a sharp, quick pain invaded his cheek.

"Tatsumi."

Her hand remained raised after she slapped him. The cold look in her eyes felt so strange to him, masking her domineering presence with a sharp disappointment.

"I can't stand to see weakness in you."

Her tone confused him. What was happening?

"To let your teigu possess you and reject it afterwards can be fatal. You are not weak enough to die. You are strong. You are my Tatsumi. So stop this nonsense" she scolded.

"I-I don't know" sighed Tatsumi. "I...killed-"

"You killed someone" finished Esdeath.

Conscious, substantial tears poured through his shut eyes. His sobbing breath quickened.

"Yes, you- goodness, Tatsumi- yes, you killed someone. But that is no reason to behave like a _toddler._ He was weaker than you, and he died. I don't understand wh-"

"SHUT UP JUST LEAVE ME ALONE" exclaimed Tatsumi.

He braced himself for what he feared would come but all that arrived was silence. The weight on the bed lightened and the door slammed shut.

...

His scream and the bang of the door echoed infinitely in Esdeath's mind. She stood in her candle lit chambers, staring out the window, the wine in her hand dancing with the shimmering dim yellow light.

"It is a full moon tonight" she observed aloud, though she was alone.

She remained on her feet, her gaze unflinching from the dotted sky for some moments.

A knock on the doorway interrupted the silence.

"Yes?"

"General Esdeath, if I may, would you like me to unlight the candles?" Asked an eager servant, his hands behind his back.

An ice block shot towards the only set of candles in the room, knocking it over.

"Leave" she commanded.

The satisfaction she felt from the man's running footsteps was small indeed, but the slight rise in her heart felt refreshing. She scanned the floor, hoping she didn't make too much of a mess. That was when she noticed the moonlight. The silver dim light captured in so few few moments on so few nights. Ever since she met Tatsumi she began to feel strange new feelings, and noticed many new things she would have otherwise overlooked. Before she met him, the natural beauty of the moon and stars meant nothing to her. Blood and steel were the only elements she loved. Now, the moonlight washing over the white tile reminded her of Tatsumi's transformed silver hair.

 _Tatsumi._

She hurriedly gulped down her wine and smashed the glass in her fist. Her thoughts were fast now, her mind racing along the edge of a long sword.

" _How can you act so weak, Tatsumi-_ _**my**_ _Tatsumi"_ she thought. " _Your actions are like that of a child. Doesn't he understand that if he displays too much weakness in front of the teigu it would kill him? No... I don't think I made that clear to him. I could tell him- no he is too distressed to listen."_

The original reason Tatsumi wanted to join the Capitol was to join the military and make money for his village, she reasoned. So why is he so chagrined by the act of taking the life of another? He wanted to be a fighter so badly, and yet he cries like a child when he finally has blood on his hands. Such weakness was impossible for her to understand.

Another knock on the open doorframe.

"What is it" she tested harshly.

"The autopsy of the victim has been finished. The man was from Night Raid. Owner of the Cross Tail teigu" reported River's voice.

Esdeath gave a brief chuckle.

"I will come down to the room myself. A shame he had to die; I could have made him feel such... exquisite pain."

"Yes, General Esdeath."

Tatsumi rested his head on the white pillow, his hands completely still on his chest. Esdeath's words revolved in his head, his understanding of the situation solidifying and widening, twisting and bending into an unrecognizable shape.

" _I can't stand to see weakness in you."_

Initially he couldn't understand how guilt over murder was weakness. However, in his third hour of lying in bed, he felt his heart grow colder. His mind slowed, his thoughts more rational.

"This is what I wanted, wasn't it?" He thought to himself. "Why am I crying over my first combat as an official member of the Imperial military?"

A voice in his conscience agreed with him. He only did his job. He killed an enemy of the Empire. And the enemy attempted to kill him too, the other guy struck first.

" _I was in the right, wasn't I?_ " he questioned.

Esdeath said something else that bothered him.

" _To let your teigu possess you and reject it afterwards can be fatal."_

The events leading up to the man's death were a complete blur to him. That alone convinced him that he had allowed the teigu to possess him. Scar's Extract forced him to kill a man. Scar's Extract made him crush the man's skull and impale his stomach. Scar controlled Tatsumi in that moment, and that scared him.

He rejected the teigu too, he could not accept that the demon inside him controlled him. But he didn't know how that could kill him. " _Weapons don't just kill their users. What was she even saying"_ he reflected.

A familiar presence faded in. The domineering, powerful aura of Esdeath intensified as she stepped into the room. He couldn't help but tense his shoulders.

"Still crying?" she greeted.

Tatsumi turned his head to face her, barely allowing a small smile to melt into his face.

"No. I realized you were right. I can't cry over doing my job" he stated.

"Good. Now get up. Only weaklings imprison themselves to their beds" she proclaimed.

"...but there's one thing."

Her sinful head cocked to the side.

"I'm listening."

"I've resolved to never use my teigu again. I want to get stronger, but I cannot use something that can possess me so easily."

All affection left her eyes, one hand briefly clenched into a fist.

"Do you want to die you fool" she stated.

Tatsumi opened his mouth, but she beat him to it.

"I told you, you will die if you reject the teigu. To reject a capable weapon is _weakness_ , Tatsumi, and Scar will punish that weakness by killing you. He will think that you are not a suitable master and destroy you. You say you want to be stronger, Tatsumi? Utilize Scar. Use it. If the possession bothers you, then destroy it's will to control you. Use your sheer willpower to eliminate all of it's misgivings for you. Learn to control your teigu, that is the way to new strength."

Her mouth stayed silent a moment, her lips unmoving.

"I just... don't want to lose you..."

Tatsumi's jaw dropped as he noticed her eyes glisten. Her arms held him with renewed passion, his head nestled into her sensual neck.

"...my Tatsu-bunny."

He felt her chin lift from his crown. His own head raised, and found his lips meeting hers. He refused to hold back, her soft gentle lips were exactly what he has been waiting for, whether he knew it or not. When she pulled back, the love in her eyes had returned. Her fingers drew careful circles on his hands.

"We... will resume training tomorrow" she informed softly. "But for now, we must retire to my chambers. Tonight... I surely must punish you, for being _such_ a bad boy..."

Uncertain excitement mounted in his heart.

"B-b-b-but why?" he stammered.

"No talking" she ordered, grabbing hold of his wrist. "Speech will only worsen your punishment."

"W-what will you make me do?"

Esdeath charged out the door past a medical assistant, Tatsumi staggering behind.

"Help me!" He exclaimed.


	7. The Lynx and the Succubus

Tatsumi practically roared a loud yawn, awaking Wave in his position on the wall.

Esdeath's punishment the previous night kept Tatsumi from getting the early sleep he had desired. His mind replayed the night's events against his will, sending a shudder down his spine.

 _Upon dragging him to her chambers, she pushed him to the bed with one hand and pinched his nipple with the other, not letting go until she was sure he wouldn't move._

" _Stay" she ordered._

Tatsumi entered the Jaegers quarters, pretending not to notice Wave. He staggered to the counter and grabbed a banana. A snicker oozed from outside in the hall.

 _Satisfied with his compliance, she strode to the washroom, her hips swinging in small horizontal arcs. Tatsumi noticed that she tended to walk like that when excited or content. And she was very content._

Tatsumi hoped what he heard was just the wind outside. But the vegetation in the windows was still, the leaves unmoving. He looked to his right and nodded to Bols.

 _The faucet ran, the weight of the water slamming into the tub reminding him of rocks smashing a bucket. Waiting until he was sure Esdeath was in the shower, he slowly left the bed._

"Are you hungry Tatsumi?" asked Bols, raising a kitchen knife, chopped scallions on the cutting board.

"I prefer light breakfasts, thank you Bols" replied Tatsumi, eyeing the pot of boiling water. "I've gotta admit, that soup looks good."

"Don't be afraid to try some if you'd like. It's got egg noodles, cha siu, scallions, everything I've heard people from the north like."

Tatsumi forced a chuckle.

"Yeah, sounds like something we'd eat back home" he replied. "Wait... how do you know I'm from the Northern Region?"

Bols reached for the oven to turn off the burner.

"Well, Esdeath never stops talking about you, Tatsumi."

" _Oh great"_ thought Tatsumi. " _Does she have no humility?_ "

"Even if she hadn't told me all that she had known about you, I could still tell" Bols continued, wagging his finger. "You and Esdeath both have the same stern yet affectionate eyes. Like... steel... but with..."

Bols stirred the soup lazily, as if he wasn't aware of his movements. Then he looked up.

"Like steel with chocolate icing!" he exclaimed happily.

 _Though a voice in his mind told him there was no way she would hear him, he tiptoed towards the door. The juxtaposition of fear and arousal she held over him amazed him at times like this. Upon placing his hand on the door to leave, he found that the door was frozen shut. No one could get in or out except for the succubus in the washroom. Unsure if he was disappointed or relieved, he climbed back to the bed carefully. He gazed back to the white ceiling, and found himself thinking of a cannibalistic flock of sheep._

"So the ice queen's from up north too" Tatsumi inferenced aloud.

Bols nodded in an energetic motion.

"And I am so happy for the two of you! Everyone is really excited to see Esdeath in love with such an amazing man as you!"

Tatsumi stopped chewing his banana, the sweet tang saliva enveloping his tongue. He swallowed.

"Love... I see..."

 _The water stopped, the bucket's pounding put to rest._

 _Out stepped the succubus._

 _A damp towel eased over her wet body. Tatsumi's awe for her renewed, and he sensed something new in his heart, too. His dread had faded to a small, black orb in his chest, so miniscule that it could be a mouse compared to his elephant lust. The domineering aura pressed into the room, she was the goddess of war. The goddess of steel. His goddess. A goddess that destroyed her opposition and allies alike. She could fight Ragnarök and survive, all the Gods left impaled in a ditch below her._

 _His excitement swelled like a balloon as she raised her finger to the ceiling._

" _Up" she ordered._

Tatsumi sensed an unfamiliar presence behind him, and promptly turned. Standing at the entrance of the quarters was Wave, water slowly dripping from his damp clothes. His weak giggling disconcerted Tatsumi. They stood for a moment, Tatsumi not daring to take his eyes off him, and Wave staring at the ground, his hair covering his eyes, a toothless grin on his wet face. Then Wave began to speak.

 _Tatsumi promptly stood out the bed._

" _Your shirt, pants, boots, socks, belt, everything. Off,"_

 _With the same instinct of a duckling following its mother, he began to unbutton his collar. Her presence shook as he paused._

" _Why did you stop. Continue."_

" _E-esdeath."_

" _Did I give permission to speak?"_

" _I'm not... ready for you... to see me like this..."_

 _Her hand rested on her hip, she smiled._

" _Oh, really?" she questioned. "After_ _ **everything**_ _we've done?"_

 _Tatsumi stayed still as a statue._

" _You know we are past that barrier" she stated. "You are definitely ready. If you continue to act like a little school girl, your punishment will only lengthen."_

 _Tatsumi knew she was right. But as rust spreads on an unclean blade, his initial beliefs were etched into his sense of normalcy. Some changes are stubborn, others can be finished overnight. A part of him felt more than ready, he didn't think he could change so fast. The day when he received his reluctant powers, and the morning of that same day changed everything that he took for granted._

 _Tatsumi continued to unbutton his collar, his heart swelling at Esdeath's hungry expression._

"T-T-Ta..." mumbled Wave.

He reminded Tatsumi of a baby attempting to say a word.

"Ta... Taaaa... T-Taaaa"

Wave seemed to be sounding out a particularly difficult word.

"T-T-Taaaaa..."

He began to giggle weakly, arms hanging limply at his sides.

"Hehehe... Ta-hehehe...Ta...hehehe..."

His giggling began to sound more awake, and quickly evolved into a crude cackle. He held his stomach and began bawling with laughter.

He raised a shaking finger to Tatsumi, tears in his eyes.

"TATSU-BUNNYYYY!"

 _She was a wolf watching the tired lamb collapse, ready to ravage it's victim. Her starving eyes devoured his body as that shirt- that accursed shirt- fell away, as the chest opens to reveal gold. Her breathing grew heavier as she noticed the mark on his chest. A new, sinister proclamation of symbiosis lay etched under his neck, above the sternum. The distinguished star semblance was marked, chilled black grains stretched out as ink grows on paper, reminiscent of the growths on a porcupine._

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!" screamed Tatsumi. "STOP ACTING LIKE YOU'RE MY LITTLE BROTHER."

A banana peel slapped against Wave's face and Tatsumi stormed out to the hall, Wave's laughter chasing him the whole way.

" _Oh, Tatsumi..." she sighed._

 _The disappearance of her authoritative tone surprised him._

" _Uh... Did I do something?"_

" _You were destined for the teigu, Tatsumi."_

 _His heart sank. Why was she bringing that up again?_

" _We're done talking about that" he stated._

" _Look at your chest."_

 _He glanced down, and looked again. The star was as black as Esdeath's cross, but the shape was completely different._

" _Now the two of us are even more alike. I can't believe how fast you have changed for me baby" praised Esdeath._

 _His heart sank even more at her words. He didn't want to believe her. While he had always been taught to accept change, a part of him believed any changes in him from Esdeath would be for the worst. However, her savage allure, her confidence and charisma, her power and skill, he felt all of these could help him become stronger. And the stronger he became, the more money he could earn for his village. He had to accept her._

" _Yes" he said weakly._

" _The teigu approved of you baby. It's strange, taking your recent behavior into account. Perhaps it knows of your potential as a warrior, as I do?"_

" _I don't care."_

 _Her authority returned._

" _Your opinion was not asked for. Now, your pants. Off."_

 _The urgency he portrayed as he undid the rest of his clothes pleased her. Her feral grin covered her face, official authority replaced with sensual dominance._

" _Your body satisfies my eyes so much, baby" crooned Esdeath, watching him briefly smile at her compliment._

" _But it's not just my eyes that need to be pleased"_

He exited to the courtyard in the center of the palace. He shut his eyes and lay on a marble bench, groaning from the sunlight on his skin.

"I'm gonna teach that asshole a lesson one day" he muttered to himself.

The chaotic chirping of the chickadees formed unrest in his head; it quickly became difficult to relax. Realizing that relaxation wasn't what he really needed, he strolled to the training grounds.

 _She threw off her towel, her natural porcelain skin filling his gaze. She chuckled as he looked away to the the side, his face reddened._

" _Still so timid" she observed, striding to the bed. She crawled to him on the sheets and straddled his steadily rising waist, his chin in her slender fingers. "I will change that."_

 _She forced his head to her direction. To her pleasure, it didn't take nearly as much strength as she anticipated._

" _I know you enjoy them Tatsu-bunny" she prodded. "I always catch you looking at them when you think I won't notice, and I can hear even the slightest of your blissful sighs as I press them against your back."_

 _She leaned to his ear._

" _You love my breasts, don't you."_

 _Her grin widened at the increase in puffs of air felt on her bosom._

" _They are all yours now, Tatsumi, just as you are all mine."_

" _St-sto..."_

" _Are you trying to tell me to stop, baby? You don't seem too sure about that" she teased. "Is that what you really want?"_

" _Ju- just... I..."_

" _Don't worry, I'm not going to be doing anything to you. Your punishment won't be like that..."_

 _She scratched his crown, relishing the feeling of his hair between her fingers._

" _You know what to do." she ordered._

 _Tatsumi didn't move._

" _Suck."_

To his surprise he found Kurome, cutting flying watermelons with her sword. He watched her slash each melon flying toward her gracefully, his mouth slightly open. He looked to his left and noticed Seryu throwing the melons at her, Koro jumping excitedly. As Seryu stooped to pick another melon from a pile, she saw Tatsumi and smiled.

"Hello fellow warrior for justice! I was just helping Kurome train!" she explained. "Do you think you could help me?"

Kurome shouted for Seryu to wait and jogged toward them, sword sheathed in her hand.

"Seryu, I need to speak to Tatsumi for a moment" Kurome stated when she reached them. "Sorry, but can-"

"Sure! Warriors for justice need their privacy, after all!" Seryu replied with a smirk.

He frowned. He hoped Kurome wasn't going to say what he thought she would.

After they watched Seryu and her dog re-enter the palace Kurome turned to him.

"Are you okay Tatsumi" she dead-panned.

Her constant lack of emotion always confused him, made only worse when he realized she was inferring to his incident yesterday. At his silence, she continued.

"Yesterday's patrol seemed to... do something to you, in a way..."

"I'm fine now" he proclaimed.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"I apologize for my actions after k-killing him."

He still had some difficulty acknowledging that he had taken a life yesterday for the first time.

"...I know it was weak of me. I'm sorry for acting so ungainly, just... first day jitters I guess."

Her paint-black eyes studied his unsteady greens. Then she spoke.

"We kill people Tatsumi, that's our job. We're military. We are on the front line. Get used to it."

His heart darkened in shame.

"I know that" snapped Tatsumi. "I just... never did anything like that before. I barely even remember it, yet I know it was _me_ who did it-killed him I mean. But at least he was coming for my life, so that makes it easier to deal with... good god, I never asked for any of this! All I know is that this woman told me to come with her and I went, I had no freakin' clue what was going to happen! Next thing I know I get ice tentacles coming out my fucking back and I'm crushing people's skulls open-"

He broke into a reluctant sob. He fought it, he fought it hard. But the landslide can't be stopped, he needed to let go.

 _He slowly inched his head toward her, and then moved with renewed bravery._

" _Oh, you are so bold..." She moaned._

 _He had no previous experience with anyone other than Esdeath. However, at his village his many conversations with Ieyasu often led to them pondering performing oral sex would be like, and how they would do it. Ieyasu was always more committed to these conversations of the two. As such, Ieyasu would somehow find ways to satisfy their curiosity. He often snuck magazines and books from the book cart that arrived in the village monthly to show Tatsumi, much to Sayo's chagrin. The texts showed a whole new, reluctant world to Tatsumi. He guiltily devoured the content when Ieyasu wouldn't know._

 _He found himself silently thanking Ieyasu for all the knowledge he knew he had to learn one day. Esdeath's reactions told him that he was utilizing this knowledge to full effect._

" _Have you been practicing on another woman before me... Tatsumi?" she sighed._

 _Tatsumi stayed silent, too focused to listen._

" _Oh, good boy, yes, uhh...yess good boyyy..."_

 _Her praises awakened a new sense in him- a different kind of satisfaction that he had never felt before. He realized it must have been the lust gained from pleasing a lover._

 _He increased the frequency of his tongue, refusing to allow his momentum dissipate._

" _You are_ _ **such**_ _a good boy Tatsu-bunnyyy..."_

 _He slowed briefly and gave a final, climactic suck, the sudden suction forcing her to gasp._

He felt so angry at himself. Why was he crying? Esdeath would have considered this behavior weak. Stop. Stop it. Why did his gasps continue? Sure, he was definitely upset about the hooded man's death, but it was kill or be killed. He had no choice in the matter. He should be grateful. He survived, the other one died. That was the end of it. All there was to it.

Kurome's gaze bored through his tensed shoulders. Unfamiliar with comforting others, she reached into a small sack tied to her waist.

"Here" she said, holding out a sandwich cookie. "Raspberry jelly. In the middle. It's good."

Tatsumi looked up from his wet palms, shameful for his childish behavior. He drew a handkerchief from his pocket with a shaking hand and blew his nose. He received her gift and thanked her in a low voice.

"Sorry. Won't happen again" he apologized.

"Eat the cookie before I regret my decision."

The raspberry filling filled his mouth, the sweetness squeezing his tongue.

"It... tastes good" he remarked.

"Stop crying."

"I already stopped."

"There was another thing I wanted to say."

"What"

Kurome forced her thumb in the air.

"The man you... defeated seems to have been a Night Raid member. So... good job."

Tatsumi forced a closed smile.

"That name sounds familiar. What's Night Raid?"

Her face darkened.

"Bad people" she stated.

 _Hoping she was satisfied with his first half of the job, he moved his head to the right, his left hand groping her first breast. The wet friction of his fingers on her nipple forced her to inhale sharply._

" _Ooh... I liked that..."_

 _He repeated the process. While his hand stimulated her left breast, he licked, sucked, and bit her right. Her groans and praises showered his ears lovingly, he liked her sound._

" _It seems... uggghhh... that we can add multitasker to your- urrrgh... list of... skills..."_

 _He slowly revolved his tongue around her orb, his hot breath smothering her but the nipple left untouched._

" _No... don't make me wait baby..."_

 _She began to grind on his abdomen, he relished her wetness sliding on his abs._

" _God... uh... ugggghhh..."_

 _He found his effort come to a close as she quickly pulled herself out from him. He was able to see her rub her neglected breast before his vision darkened, her cold palm over his eyes._

" _I said..."_

 _Tatsumi's head was pushed to the mattress._

" _...don't make me wait."_

Bad people. Tatsumi wondered what that meant.

"What did they do?" he questioned.

"They kill innocents. Betray the empire. A group of assassins who kill only for money."

He felt his chest lighten.

" _I killed a murderer yesterday"_ he thought. " _I'm not naïve, I know killing is still wrong, but I did my duty as an imperial soldier."_

"Night Raid, huh" he repeated. "That name sounds kinda lame."

"They get that name from the fact that they only work at night. And you managed to defeat one of them. The General is proud of you it seems."

He laughed.

"Yeah... proud..." he chuckled. "She seems that way."

 _He gasped as her tongue dragged down his abdomen, the cool slick sliding with vicious intent. Her hand fell away from his face and the white ceiling filled his sight._

" _You did so well for your first punishment baby" she whispered, moving back to his face. "Good slaves get rewarded."_

 _Her tongue, that sinful tongue, invaded his lips and ravaged his gums. Like the berserker leaving a torched farmhouse, she slipped from his mouth with sudden speed._

" _Don't think I don't feel your bulging against me" Esdeath whispered._

 _Tatsumi gave a low chuckle._

 _She rested the side of her back to the bed and pushed her left arm under his neck. Tracing her wet right hand down his middle, she grinned as his expression widened._

" _I'm about to pleasure my favorite subordinate."_

 _Her hand began to stroke, flicking her thumb about the tip. She moved slowly, her tempo increasing as his breath grew faster and heavier. She now wanted more than ever to indulge herself further, to release her femininity. But she soldiered on. She must put her Tatsumi first. Those hands would stay right where they were, away from her body._

" _U-uhh Esdeath!" groaned Tatsumi._

 _That broke her._

 _Her frequency increased, the dial set to the maximum. She ripped her left arm from underneath his neck, letting his head bump into the bed stand. He didn't seem to notice. She would allow herself to climax first this once, Tatsumi won't mind._

" _Esde... gonna..."_

 _His broken moan echoed through her ears as she reached her limit. Both her hands felt hot now as she slowed. He bucked slightly a few times, and gave a short smile._

" _Wow" he sighed._

" _Did you enjoy your punishment slave?" she teased._

 _She inhaled sharply when he gave her breast a final squeeze._

" _Fine. Yeah, I did." he admitted, a defeated look on his face._

Kurome picked another cookie from her sack and bit into it.

"I must wash up and see what Bols made for breakfast. I hope it isn't too heavy, I can't eat heavy food for breakfast.

He chuckled again.

"Sure."

He watched Kurome leave the grounds, wondering if he had just made a new friend. He shook his head, he couldn't let himself think such things too soon. He scanned the area, struggling to remember what he had initially come here for. Upon finding a punching bag in a corner, he grinned.

" _Guess some cardio will do me some good"_ he thought.

He entered into a calm stroll when his eyes widened.

It burned.

The cold set his back on fire.

Clenching his teeth to suppress a scream, he collapsed onto all fours. Tears of pain slashed through his eyelids. Ice water dripped to the sand below him.

"Wh-what is..."

 _Found you_

"Its... so cold-"

The terrible gurgling filled his mind.

 _Rejection_

"St-stop!" he gasped.

 _Grown_

"I said STOP"

 _Trapped_

The gurgling evolved to a dry groan.

An unnatural, horrid scream filled his ears.

He had never seen ice so red.


	8. Sticks and Stones

"Do you know why this has happened?"

Tatsumi sat, beat in his chair. Esdeath's commanding voice echoed through the empty white space, his attention perking at every word, though he refused to show it.

"Your actions over the past few days have showed utter weakness. Scar does not tolerate weakness. And neither should you" she proclaimed.

The room stayed silent, other than Esdeath's discreet sigh.

Than Tatsumi spoke.

"You're wrong. I am not weak. Everything is just... new to me... that's all."

She closed her eyes and turned her head.

"I know" she replied. "You haven't been here long, and you have only just gained a powerful, formerly classified teigu. I understand accustoming to such things takes time.

She faced him, eyes pouring into his.

"But I will repeat myself. Do you know why the events in the training grounds happened?"

He shifted his gaze to the white tile floor.

"No" he lied.

"Scar attempted to coerce you to utilize him again. He seems to have failed only from your sheer willpower. Scar understands the potential you have as his master, Tatsumi, the mark on your chest proves so. So why do you refuse him? If only you accepted him, this would not have happened-"

"He makes me do things, Esdeath" he interjected; the fear in his voice making her heart sank. "He groans and growls in my ears and makes me want to hurt people-"

She refused to listen to him further. Her hand slapped his cheek, finding something in her stir when his eyes dampened.

"Then dominate him. He's your weapon. If the weapon needs to learn to submit to the master, then so be it. I've seen you do so before, back in the armory. I know you can do it again."

After studying his darkening face, she continued.

"In fact, only three hours ago you forced the teigu to crawl back to its residence inside of you, using only your will" she encouraged. "This shows me you still have it in you to keep the Extract."

"And what if I don't want to keep it" he tested.

She softly stroked where she had slapped him before.

"Then sooner or later, it kills you and returns to the vase you drank from."

"You can't possibly know that."

"Oh, I do" she replied matter-of-factly. "According what is left of the ancient texts, the vase is full again when Scar loses a master."

Her free hand reached behind his head and gripped a handful of his brown hair.

"That reminds me... according to a scripture in the archives River found, there was once a teigu user like you, two years after the first emperor's death. He was the first man to use Scar's Extract and succeed in dominating it."

His eyes met hers briefly, than jumped to the floor below, unsure of where to look.

"He was given the pseudonym of Dago" she continued. "Dago fought and won many battles using Scar. In the course of his career, he frequently complained about and demeaned the teigu, saying some of the same things you tell me now. 'Oh, Emperor;' he whined one day. 'The weapon wants me to kill my family.' Of course, the Emperor at the time refused to listen at first, he didn't want to lose the weapon of his best warrior. But Dago was persistent, so the Royal Court attempted an exorcism. Scar made no appearance, so Dago was simply labeled as a lunatic. He was begrudgingly forced to fight more wars, his reputation going downhill with every appeal he made to the Emperor about Scar's Extract."

She chuckled at his widening eyes, she enjoyed his attention and she knew it.

"Eventually;" concluded Esdeath. "Dago's eviscerated family was found in his estate outside the Capitol. All were impaled through their genitalia with icicles, only the wife was still alive, though on the brink of death. In the garden splatters of frozen blood, ice, and chunks of gore were strewn all over the white flowers. These were presumed to be Dago's remains. The incident was ruled as a murder-suicide, and that was the end of it. Interestingly, later that same day Scar's vase was full again, emanating a dim red throughout the armory for days."

Tatsumi had gagged occasionally as Esdeath spoke, but pushed himself to listen. While he was no stranger to gore due to his many encounters with danger beasts, hearing about humans meeting such a grisly fate revolted him.

But he refused to admit it.

It was not morbid curiosity, it was subtle arousal he felt, too.

"So" she began; "I dragged you to the indoor training hall for a reason. I have theorized that there is only one way to make you accept your teigu again."

She drew her cold gray rapier from her waist.

"...by putting heavy risk on your life."

Tatsumi barely managed to throw himself from his stool as her blade shot toward him. Their swords met as she swung downward for her second blow.

"I won't hold back until you come to your senses, Tatsu-bunny" she warned with a smirk.

He thought about escaping, but his boyish sense of honor would not allow for that.

Her knee slammed into his gut, a leaf-sized puddle of his saliva splattering onto her uniform. He fell to his stomach but, ignoring the pain, rolled sideways to find her heel plant itself on his stomach, the same spot where she kneed him.

"Please understand that I don't take any pleasure in this" she asked. "But this is for your own survival Tatsu-bunny."

The pain enveloped his abdomen, he gagged and coughed under her boot but refused to vomit. He desperately swung his blade, only for her to parry it lazily. His middle seemed paralyzed to the floor, only his limbs seemed capable of movement. Unsure of what else to do, he continued to swing his sword at her leg until she finally knocked it out of his hand.

"I cannot believe this Tatsumi" she scolded. "I thought you were strong. Is this all you have? I haven't even used my teigu yet."

Tatsumi's mind raced, first out of desperation, but then out of anger. His fingertips began to feel electrified, his fury grew.

"Are you ashamed Tatsumi? Are you ashamed?"

"Shut _up_ " he growled.

He started punching her boot, refusing to acknowledge the damage to his knuckles.

 _Fear_

The corners of his vision darkened, everything was tinted blue.

"NO" screamed Tatsumi.

The devilish moans rose from the depths of his hearing.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE, STOP THIS!"

The noise grew.

The frost burned him, it felt like his body was slammed against a hot iron wall. But he continued his resistance.

"God, it burns..." he groaned, slow tears painfully growing in his eyes, freezing as they dropped to the ground.

Esdeath grinned. He was growing stronger. Tatsumi was growing stronger. _Her_ Tatsumi was growing stronger.

His groans turned to screams, causing her chest to stir. Lover's instinct made his screams pain her heart, she fought to ignore it. Her foot must stay planted on Tatsumi's stomach. If he was to stop playing the weak fool, she knew he must understand the pain, and summon the teigu.

"MAKE HIM STOP, PLEASE" his cry ruptured her ears, her grin faltered.

"PLEASE!"

"ESDEATH!"

The skin on his arms visibly squirmed, as if a worm was digging its way out. He let out a dry gasp from the new sensation, than his pleading increased in volume. As if to briefly relieve her ears from his screaming, a loud banging on the locked metal double-doors erupted at the far end of the hall. She could not make out the words shouted from outside, but could guess their meaning.

Red splotches stirred in his arms. He was bleeding internally, she had to put a stop to this before his body took any more damage.

" _But how?"_ she questioned silently.

The doors banged again, almost drowned out by Tatsumi's screams. She needed to think. Thankfully, making quick decisions in chaotic moments was something she was skilled in. Her boot lifted from his stomach and she quickly placed her hands on his chest, ignoring all the noise filling the room.

 _Scream_

His pain seemed to leave to another world. He could still feel it, but he didn't have to continue screaming. He was floating, all his senses were being left on the ground below him. His eyes still had sight, but his mind refused to process what he was seeing. He was a blank space in a white universe. Nothing could reach him now.

Until the whispers took him.

Those same whispers that wanted him, body, mind, and soul.

The damp warmth cloaked his naked frail body, a copper smell enveloped his nostrils.

That smell.

He was able to find a small crack in the dark. Outside was dim flickering orange, he decided to look. A heavy pressure set itself on his back, he struggled to push it off, and it fell away.

It was still dark, but fire and moonlight had joined the fray. He was in a river. The blood river of his dreams. The cruel baptism that started it all.

His limbs quivered. He knew this river. He knew the rocks, he remembered the trees and the pebbled island before the tributary. A tingle sneaked across his shoulders, and he slowly glanced down, though he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life, somewhere hidden in his mind. A woman, his guardian, stared at him, her blank eyes wide with regret. Faceless bodies piled atop her, the body on top slowly letting out a dry groan, like a balloon gradually deflating. To his right was a man. His recumbent back leaned onto the side of the boat, his familiar toned arms reaching for Tatsumi. The pile on his mother lay in front of the man's face, saving him from his father's cold, dead stare.

He could feel nothing. His mind wouldn't comprehend it. A scream sounded from the bridge above, he watched as a shadow pulled another. They struggled briefly, then he heard a wet slash and warmth splattered his cheek.

The dead boat floated down under the bridge, scraping a rock. The boat slowed, he leaned to the left and noticed a dense, dark conception against the bow. A passing torchlight revealed a bloated corpse on the water slowing the boat.

" _Get off"_ was all he could think. " _You're slowing the boat down."_

The carcass stayed.

"GET OFF" he yelled. "THE BOATS GOING TO STOP!"

The body swayed to the left, bringing the small boat grating towards the shore.

"NO!" cried Tatsumi. "We need to go..."

Pressure took hold underneath his shoulders, he was lifted from the blood boat.

"We need... to leave... mom..."

Shouts and jeers surrounded him, but did not reach him.

"...dad... we have to go... home."

...

Tatsumi's eyes opened to find a wooden ceiling above him. The deep brown had never relaxed him as much as it did now, it reminded him of the huts in his village.

"You are a lucky little Tatsu-bunny" said a voice.

He turned his head to the right and to his chagrin, stood Wave.

"Say that again" dared Tatsumi.

"Relax," Wave stated. "I'm not here to make you angry-"

"You're doing a good job of it."

"...if I made you mad you're injuries would get only worse. You've got internal bleeding, Tat- Tatsumi. Serious stuff. So the Captain decided to postpone anymore of your teigu training for now."

"Where's Esdeath."

"The Captain had some business with the Minister or something. That's all."

"When can I leave the hospital."

"Uh, when you heal, duh."

"You know how long that'll take?"

"No, I'm just a fisherman. If you were a fish, I would probably know. Not that I'm a fish doctor or anything, I just catch and eat 'em."

Tatsumi finally noticed his arms were in casts, strung to the ceiling. He wanted to scratch them so badly.

"Hehehe, they itch don't they?" Wave remarked.

"Stop."

"Scratch them, try and scratch 'em."

" _Stop_."

"Scratchy scratchy, Tatsu-bunny..."

"GET OUT!"

...

The three torturous days Tatsumi waited in bed to heal were spent angrily enduring torment from Wave, thinking about Ieyasu and Sayo, and sleeping. To his surprise Esdeath only checked on him once a day, in contrast to the ever imposing presence she laid upon him most of the time. Every 5 hours during the day a nurse entered to detach his casts from the ceiling and brought him outside. He was not allowed anything strenuous, only a walk and some stretches, but he always attempted to sneak in a run around the courtyard.

On the third day Esdeath entered the room with a curious blush on her face and a paper box in her hands.

"It's strange seeing you act so shy, what's going on?" inquired Tatsumi.

"Well..." she stalled, her eyes on the wall. "I..."

Her commanding face returned, comforting familiarity washing over him.

"I must apologize, Tatsumi."

"Wh- what for?"

"We have both been very busy ever since we met, I was so excited by the prospect of having you, that we never had the time to..."

She held the box out in front of her, lifting the lid to reveal a white frosted cake.

"...celebrate your 17th birthday."

He stared wide-eyed at the dessert, unsure of what to say.

After a short silence, he spoke.

"Where did you get it?"

"I asked you how old you were at Fisher Village and you said 'I'll be 17 tomorrow.'"

"No, uh... I mean the cake."

"Oh, I baked it myself."

He scanned over the delicate piped red flowers and the carefully decorated edges.

"It looks so... professional..." he observed.

Her blush returned and she let out a short, girlish giggle.

"I _was_ the one who made it, after all."

"You shouldn't giggle like that, it doesn't suit you."

"Those restraints on your arms don't suit you, either. They're too... assuring. Perhaps some of my chains would do?"

He gulped.

"What are you getting at, ice queen."

The cake was placed on a nightstand and her sultry mouth zeroed to his ear.

"Two nights, Tatsumi" she whispered. "Two nights I had to lie in my bed, no Tatsu-bunny to warm and pleasure me. No good boy to come suck my fingers and give me a goodnight kiss. No handsome slave to subject my pent-up sexual frustrations and-"

"Alright, alright! I get it now. And it's your fault I'm stuck in here, anyway, so don't go punishing me or anything..."

His voice faltered at her grin.

"Oh, don't act like you don't enjoy your punishments, slave."

It was his turn to blush.

"Well... I..."

"I spoke to the head nurse. She claims you will be ready to leave by tomorrow."

"Oh, uh good."

"So I want us to devour this genoiśe together, in the same way I will devour you when you come back to my bed."

"Could you leave that detail out when we're celebrating my birthday, please?"

"You know you like it. Don't be bashful, it's rude."

"Shu- just cut the goddamn cake."

She carefully cut the cake with a knife on the nightstand. Seyru entered the room with a small plate in her hands.

"Here it is, General!"

"Thank you, Seyru. I would invite you to eat with us, but I want this to be between me and Tatsu-bunny."

"Of course General!" Giggled Seyru.

After he watched her leave, he turned to Esdeath.

"Can you please not call me that in front of people?" He asked.

"I don't understand. When I call you Tatsu-bunny it's like my own personal name for you, and it shows that you are mine. That way no one will dare try and take you from me."

"Wh-what the hell...?"

"What?"

She was so strange to him. Her entire being was a large juxtaposition of brutish dominance, savage elegance, and bold sensuality. It would take a long time for him to fully understand her.

"I-it's nothing. The cake looks really good, by the way."

"Thank you, Tatsumiiii..."

"Wh-uh... Your welcome."

He watched her blush fade back into her face in wonder. The moments when she acted like a smitten schoolgirl amazed him. How could such a bloodthirsty warrior be so vulnerable to such a basic emotion such as infatuation? Or was it love? He quickly killed that thought. Love seemed much too extreme at the moment, he would decide on that later.

"So... I was wondering what you and the Minister are so busy with..."

Her face slowly faded into her old snow-white self again as she answered.

"Oh, me and Onest are finished with that for now. We are planning to exterminate a group that has become a pain for the Empire, Tatsumi. I'm sure have heard of them, they call themselves Night Raid."

He gulped.

"I remember. I...killed one of them."

"Yes, the Cross Tail user. Kurome told me about how you quickly overpowered him-"

She noticed his lower jaw quiver and remembered this was a sensitive subject for him.

"Tatsumi, you need to let go of your guilt." she sighed.

"I know. I don't feel bad. I just need to get used to it, is all. He was part of Night Raid. He was evil, I know about how they kill innocents. And destroying evil is good, right?"

She smiled.

"I am so proud of your growth, Tatsumi. In less than a week I watched you destroy a dangerous variant of earth dragon, gain a secret teigu, and eliminate a Night Raid member. Now, if only you would just accept Scar's-"

"We are _not_ talking about that now."

His shoulders tensed, and his teeth were gritted. She decided not to push him, it was his birthday, after all. She stared at him for a moment, then began to cut a slice of cake with a knife.

"Fine, I understand. I assume Wave has already told you that any further teigu training is postponed?"

A cake piece eased into the plate.

"Yeah."

"Good. I have scheduled for you to patrol with him to Mt. Fake in two days, by the way."

Her free hand held a fork.

"What!?"

"I want you to get along with all your comrades. The reason the Jaegers were formed was to destroy Night Raid, and that purpose cannot be achieved if any petty feuds continue. So, think of this as an... opportunity to know a comrade."

Tatsumi knew she was right.

" _Wave isn't so bad"_ he reflected. " _He's annoying, but I'm sure he just teases me for fun, not out of spite."_

"Hmph. Fine then."

"You are so cute" she chuckled.

Her fork slowly slid through the front of the slice, and hovered to his face.

"Say 'aaah,' baby."

"Er-fine" he relented, knowing that it was impossible to defeat Esdeath in her little games. "Aaaahh."

The cool buttercream filled his tongue, gentle starch caressing his gums.

"Mmm... I like it."

He watched her gently place the piece of cake on the nightstand, and swallowed quickly. He could sense she was about to do something drastic.

Her arms suddenly embraced him, her chest smothering his face.

"Ohhhhh, thank you Tatsumiiii, you are the cutest thing to me, Tatsu-bunnyyy!"

Moving his head to the side so he could breathe, he gasped;

"What the hell's gotten into you? Don't you want some cake?"

She straddled his waist, leaning to his ear, her hand firmly pressed to his chest.

"It's not cake that I want in my mouth right now..."

" _Ahem_."

Tatsumi's legs convulsed in embarrassment as he noticed River's stern face gingerly scan the room.

"Yes, River?" acknowledged Esdeath, not moving from Tatsumi's waist as if it were completely normal for her.

"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am. An urgent finding has occurred , an entire family was found slaughtered in their estate. They seem to have been dead for two weeks."

"If they were weak enough to die from some petty robbers, it is nothing of my concern" she scoffed.

Tatsumi found himself again surprised at how quickly her commanding presence returned. It seemed impossible to refuse an order from her, even while she was sitting on top of her lover.

"Ordinarily, yes, Lady Esdeath. But the perpetrators..."

Tatsumi felt himself predict what River was going to say, and found his suspicions confirmed.

"...the perpetrators were Night Raid, Lady Esdeath."


	9. Interruption

"Approximately two weeks ago, a little girl and her entire family were killed in their mansion."

Esdeath sipped from her wine glass, studying the sketches River had laid on the table.

"No witnesses were left, none of the guards survived the onslaught," River continued. "But autopsies on the bodies showed wounds that matched the destructive power of the teigus confirmed to be possessed by Night Raid. As a result, it has been decided that the perpetrators were Night Raid."

Her authority dominated the room. It seemed once her heavy presence left the small wooden quarters, the ceiling would collapse from the sudden lack of tension.

"Excellent work, River. Has there been any known activity from Night Raid after the killings?"

"Not that we know of, Lady Esdeath. The Department of Research and I have failed to find any proof of further activity."

"Good. They may have decided to lay low. But it should be expected that they strike again soon, laying low for more than two weeks is unlike them."

Esdeath held up one of the sketches.

"This girl... it is surprising to know they killed such a young face... her name was..." she glanced at the image. "I see...Aria."

A loud bang erupted next to them. Neither reacted, except for a quiet sigh from River.

"Did you need to bang your axe on the floor like that?" whined a boy.

"I wanna say something" proclaimed a gruff voice.

River sighed again.

"Say it, Daidara."

"You all know I wanna get as much fighting experience as I can. I say we find Night Raid and kill 'em. And let me do all th' killin'. 'Cus like I said, I want all that fighting experience."

Her icy blues stared blankly to the right.

"Your insight is appreciated. But our plan is to gather as much evidence of their motives and location as possible first, Daidara, since past experience has taught us that Night Raid's base of operations is near impossible to find."

Daidara sunk back to the wall, his head low.

"Fine, be that way" he grumbled.

Her eyes made their way back to River's.

"Are the research teams still working at the scene?"

"Yes, Lady Esdeath."

"Good. I am going to be on a patrol with the Jaegers tomorrow at noon, so any further information that is not urgent enough for me to be told in person you will write in a report. I want it on my desk by tomorrow night."

"Understood, Lady Esdeath."

...

Tatsumi dreamt of a cavern. The stalactites hung ominously over him, loud moaning echoing through the wide cave. An instrument strummed at the edge of his hearing. A balalaika, weaving in and out of the limits of his senses. The instrument he heard often in his village. Now that he thought about it, wasn't Sayo's mother exceptional at the balalaika-

" _Found you_ " sang a girl's voice.

The cavern was long gone, he was now in a bright hallway.

" _Come here daddy."_

No, it was two naked little girls. They stood motionless at the end of the hall, despite how their faces were blurred, he knew they were staring at him.

" _Help us daddy_."

He stepped closer, wondering where their parents were.

" _We want our daddy_."

He pondered where their arms could have gone. They really needed some bandages for those stumps.

" _We want our daddy_."

How they were speaking with their heads gone, he didn't know.

" _Daddy, come back."_

Now their legs were missing. Tatsumi thought Esdeath would punish him for all the blood on the stone floor.

" _Daddy..."_

The walls were deep red, convulsing as if made of live flesh.

" _Love us daddy."_

Great. Now he had to clean both the floor and the walls.

" _Enjoy us daddy._ "

Large spines grew in all directions from their torsos, reminding him of two porcupines.

" _Find us daddy."_

Their heads shot from their necks, protruding in front of his face by their spinal cords. They bled from black eyes, faces no longer blurred.

" _Kill us daddy."_

" _Kill us daddy."_

" _Kill us me."_

" _Killisme."_

" _Killtsumi."_

"Tatsumi."

Esdeath's bold voice intruded into his consciousness.

"You need to get up. We have work to do."

He gave a faint chuckle. An image often accompanied his thoughts of her. A snow-white Lynx, stalking through the cold pine forest, fangs bared to kill. A moose would appear, only to become another hollowed carcass among a bloodied army of dead creatures. The image was so different from her loving treatment, it almost made him uneasy.

"You will follow me out in two hours" she ordered. She watched Tatsumi raise his bare body from the bed, her mighty aura dissipating to ravenous hunger. Her eyes bored into his scarred back, fantasizing the misty appendages of his teigu protruding once again. Water in the bathroom ran briefly, followed with sounds of brushing. She gave him as much privacy as she allowed, before she gave in and entered, Tatsumi just finishing rinsing his mouth.

"Uh, wh-"

Before he could speak Esdeath's lips forced onto his, her tongue overtaking his gums, a dragon to castle walls.

He stood awkwardly for a moment, then carefully moved his hands to hold her face to his, returning the kiss.

She snaked from his mouth, hand tracing down one of his raised arms.

"Good boy."

He blushed and smiled, wondering if he would ever be accustomed to her affection.

"Now I feel fully awake" she sighed, winking. "And you should too."

Mount Fake was a quietly ominous landform. All approaching Jaegers could sense bloodlust as they followed Esdeath through the dirt path.

"What a place" remarked Wave. "I bet even the trees want me dead here."

Esdeath gave him a backward glance.

"You may find that assumption to be correct, Wave. The amount of danger beasts that lurk here is phenomenal, only adding to Mount Fake's notoriety."

"I've heard many scary stories about this place, General" warned Bol's muffled voice. "Demonic rituals used to be performed here, is that correct?"

"That was all more than a few centuries ago, Bols. Besides, demons shouldn't scare my Jaegers. There are three of them residing with us, after all" she responded.

Tatsumi cracked a finger with his thumb and chuckled shyly, hoping Seyru's gaze didn't foreshadow a possible conversation with her. To his dismay, she spoke.

"Oh, yes! Tatsumi, I remember the General saying you have some really powerful teigu..."

Kurome's hand set on Seyru's shoulder, shaking her head.

They continued past the entrance to Mount Fake, Esdeath happily proclaiming how rough their training was going to be today.

"And commemorating Tatsumi's seventeenth birthday, we will have a small party afterwards at the palace."

"I thought this was gonna be a patrol, Esdeath" Tatsumi stated. "I'm all up for training, but you told me this was going to be a pa-"

"Oh, we will do some patrolling" replied a grinning Esdeath. "The training comes after. A good danger beast hunt before the party sounds excellent, don't you agree?"

"Aw, hell yeah!" Tatsumi heard Wave whoop. "Hope there's some fish beasts to eat!"

The group reached a large clearing in the forest at the foot of the mountain. Esdeath ordered the group to split into pairs for patrol, Tatsumi with Wave, Kurome with Bols, and Seyru with her. Each pair spread throughout the area, patrolling different sectors of Mount Fake.

Wave giggled at Tatsumi's scowl, his chagrin was something Wave found a strange joy in. He didn't quite understand why.

"Let's patrol our _hardest_ for the glory of the empire, okay..." Wave stepped in front of Tatsumi, his face in front of his. "...Taaaaatsuuuuuu-buuuuunnnnnyyyyyyy..."

"Why do you keep acting like a little kid?!" yelled Tatsumi. "Can you stop pestering me for once, you fish-fucking piece of shit?!"

Wave stared at him, wide-eyed. Guilt seeped into Tatsumi's chest, his anger subsiding.

"Uh... sorry... I-don't really think you screw fish or anything, it's just..."

Wave's eyes seemed to water around the edges, sending Tatsumi in a panicked apologetic frenzy.

"L-l-look, i-it's okay, I... I'm sorry, okay? Er... I guess I was a little harsh there..."

A muffled, low unsteady wailing sounded from Wave.

"U-uh...fine, what do you want me to do to make you stop crying? Uh...I guess...I can...steal some of Kurome's cookies for you?"

Full blown tears fell from Wave's face, he seemed to be crying.

"Well, if that doesn't sound good...than…I guess I can...give you a fish? I don't eat much seafood, not much of it in my village...uh, ice-cream? You like ice cream? I'm sure there's a place at the Capitol, it'll be my treat…uh, how about a _big_ fish? Like, a really big fish, with uh...fins? And big scales, and gills, uh...and a...blowhole?"

The low wailing evolved into a loud, shaken blunter. Wave's eyes shut, the tears intensified. His body dropped to the ground, the dry dirt staining his blue coat.

" _He's laughing at me"_ Tatsumi realized. " _He's fucking laughing at me, not crying."_

For the first time, Wave did not snicker, nor even cackle. This was a full blown guffaw.

"Stop it!" Tatsumi growled. "Off the ground, we have work to do!"

Wave's face was blood red, he seemed on the verge of suffocating. Tatsumi watched him roll on the ground for a moment, Wave slowly gaining his composure. Wave shakily stood up, hand on his stomach, the other pointing at Tatsumi.

"Hehe... f-fish... fish-" Wave stammered before breaking into another fit of laughter.

Tatsumi could see Wave's teary eyes look up at him, an excited happiness etched over his face with comedic brisk.

"That was a good one!" he pitched. "Oh my god, fish fucker! That was good!"

Tatsumi stared at him, obviously taken aback.

"Wh- so...what?"

"That was the funniest thing anyone's ever called me!"

"Uh... something's wrong with you..."

"N-no, think about it-HAHAHAHAHAHA..."

He waited for Wave to finish another fit of cackling, then tried to make sense of what he was seeing again.

"So you like it when people call you... fish..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"...fucker?"

"FWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! Think about it! Doesn't it sound funny?!"

Tatsumi decided he wouldn't fall to Wave's absurd sense of humor. However, he couldn't help but imagine a hint of logic to what Wave was trying to explain.

" _Hmmm... fish-fucker..._ " thought Tatsumi. " _Ffffish... fffffucker..."_

His mouth slowly, hesitantly stretched to a grin. His hands quickly covered his mouth, he would not show that he stooped to Wave's level of humor.

"See? Isn't it funny?" urged Wave.

"NO! I-IT'S-"

He couldn't resist it anymore. Wave's balminess seemed contagious as the flu at his village in winter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The pair laughed together, one covering their face in shame and the other rolling on the ground again in brazen glee.

Wave felt a slight shaking underneath him, but he reasoned that it must have been his body shaking from laughter. The shaking quickly intensified, and a grip tightened around his body. He was lifted into the air, an emptiness in his stomach rising from his crotch. Not comprehending what was happening, he gazed down to find Tatsumi shouting inaudibly at him, hands around his mouth. His eyes lowered further and noticed a rotund, multi-jawed opening underneath him.

" _A danger beast snuck up on me"_ he realized. _"It's got me suspended above the mouth, ready to eat me. No problem, i'll just get Grand Chariot going and it'll be ov-"_

Weightlessness filled him as he fell from the creature's grip. He let out a sharp gasp of surprise before diving feet first into the monster's orifice. Warm saliva enveloped around him, the slippery goo preventing his hands from gripping his sword properly. He wailed as his heart sank.

It was called a Ground Squid. Tatsumi had read about these at the back of the countless comic books and manga he read back home. He tried to yell for Wave to throw some of his gear into the mouth, as he knew from the trivia he read that the moment an object was dropped into a Ground Squid's mouth the beast would drop its prey and leave, thinking that it had caught something. However, Wave seemed too dazed to listen.

"Dammit!" he cursed.

He watched Wave plummet into the creature's mouth. Though he knew Wave still had some time, the sight made him panic. He remembered how Ground Squids often swallowed their prey whole, the teeth only used for digging underground and mating display.

" _Wave has about half an hour before he's digested"_ Tatsumi reasoned. " _But he's got a few minutes at most before he suffocates in there."_

Not one to waste time, Tatsumi urgently drew his sword and rushed towards the squid. His eyes quickly scanned the body of the creature. The house-size, maggot-like body would provide an excellent means of reaching the creature's stubby head. He trudged up the creature's pale back, the journey reminded him of running on a giant, deflating balloon. Fortunately, Ground Squid's were far too unintelligent to sense a comparatively small Tatsumi heading towards it's brain. He kneeled upon the creature's head, gripping the flexible white skin with one hand and holding his poised short sword with the other.

"Killing Wave is my job, not yours" he remarked, wondering if Wave heard him.

The ground squid jerked suddenly, throwing Tatsumi off balance. He flipped over the top of the squid's head, gripping a flap of skin just above the animal's mouth in time. Pain shot from his wrist of he was swung, but he held on. The head jerked again, throwing his sword out of his hand. Ignoring the disappointment of losing his sword, he quickly reached to the strap on his right shoulder where a steel dagger lay sheathed. The blade plunged into the danger beast's head, where Tatsumi predicted the brain resided. The dagger twisted and turned in the wound, and the ground squid stood completely still. He hung there for ten agonizingly slow seconds, unsure if the creature was dead before the monster shook again, a deep growl erupting from the round chasm in front of him. Large beads of saliva shot onto his clothes, the warmth dripping down his torso. The giant rolled to the side, quivering before it's body slowly curled, reminding Tatsumi of a maggot-white croissant. When he was sure the monster died, he let go, landing with both feet.

Wave seemed utterly exhausted when Tatsumi cut him out. He continued catching his breath when Tatsumi asked if he was okay, quickly wiping the saliva from his face with gooey hands. He was handed a towel and when it became too wet to use, he collapsed onto the dry dirt, squinting to the blue sky, gasping for air.

After a moment's recuperation, he remarked;

"It smelled like _fish_ in there."

Tatsumi stood over him, his tanned face made darker by the sun above him.

"Least you didn't fuck it."

Wave glanced at Tatsumi's eyes before breaking out into a loud cackle.

"That wasn't even that funny, Wave, why-"

Tatsumi couldn't resist, Wave's joy just too contagious.

The instant Seyru initially witnessed Esdeath's charm, her encapsulating preeminence, she was dumbstruck. Never had she met a person with such naturally aggressive charisma until she had joined the Jaegers. Though she refused to admit it openly, Esdeath also seemed to be the only person with the potential of understanding her. And now that woman was striding ahead of her, a long rapier drawn in her hand.

" _Her sense for justice is the same as mine"_ she reflected. " _She genuinely wants to destroy the infidels as I do; no one else seems to feel this way except me and her."_

She hugged Koro harder, the dog yelping from the sudden pressure.

"Take a good look, Koro" Seyru whispered to him. That is our leader you see in front of you. Our captain, our general. We will follow in her ways, always, from now on you will know her as _auntie_ Esdeath. Everyone in the Capitol rejects us, our beliefs, except for Tank, and _her._ General Esdeath. Let's cherish auntie Esdeath as much as- no- more than she cherishes us."

Koro let out a friendly bark in acknowledgement.

"Good Koro, you are such a good doggy!" she squealed before feeding him a treat.

She followed her blue-haired idol through the woods, until she watched her stop in front of a stone structure.

They stood in front of a stone brick wall. The triangular shape revealed the wall used to belong to a religious center, the wide doorway in the center and narrow, curved holes that may have been windows before their ruin. Seyru found her heart and body spring to attention as Esdeath turned to face her, looking her in the eye for the first time in hours.

"Seyru."

Koro yelped again as her arms tightened their hold.

"Yes General Esdeath!"

Her queen chuckled, sheathing her sword.

"Don't use such formalities when we are alone, Seyru. My Jaegers shouldn't feel any unnecessary pressure around me" Esdeath placed her hand on Seyru's shoulder. "Do you feel... pressure, Seyru?"

"N-NO! GEN-ESDEATH!"

"Good. Now, as you know, my lover's birthday party takes place tonight. Although I baked a genoise with vanilla meringue buttercream icing for him, which I am very proud of by the way, his reaction did not satisfy me. I wanted his reaction to be... more robust."

She nonchalantly waved her arms toward the ruin.

"That is why I brought us here, to the remains of Mount Fake monastery. It may have been built and destroyed two centuries ago, but there is bound to be a bounty of artifacts to be found here."

"SO YOU WANT ME TO HELP YOU FIND A PRESENT FOR TATSUMI, ESDEATH?"

"Of course, Seyru" Esdeath answered. "But not just any artifact will do. A valuable golden figure is rumoured to be hidden somewhere among the ruins. It is also said that it contains the seductive powers of a powerful aphrodisiac when handled properly. That is the gift I want to give Tatsumi. The second the statue is placed in his strong, calloused hands, he will have the immediate urge to tear off my uniform and attempt to ravage me. Of course, Tatsumi is to be the submissive one in this relationship, for now, so I will shackle him and force him to lick my feet before..."

She paused, looking at Seyru, who stood wide eyed with the slightest smirk on her face. Seyru listened to orders with such loyal intent, even when the orders trailed off into irrelevance.

"I apologize for my bluntness. Just utilize Koro to find what I am looking for."

"YES-yes, Esdeath."

"...and do not fret about danger beasts, my very presence scares them away..." Esdeath lowered her voice, speaking to herself. "The creatures are such weaklings in this sector of Mount Fake."

Seyru entered the ruins with Koro, speaking in a low voice.

"Take note, Koro. Auntie Esdeath refuses to sugar-coat her inner desires. Isn't that so admirable? From now on, I'm going to try to be more like auntie Esdeath."

Nightfall loomed onto the landscape, the moonlight glazing over the dark trees and shivering over the rivers and streams. Wave and Tatsumi sat underneath a canopy of trees, watching for any other signs of life.

"I can't believe we got lost" repeated Wave. "I wonder if the trees changed their positions to trap us here."

"If that's the case, we're screwed" Tatsumi lamented, holding up his knife. "I lost my sword to that ground squid, I can't fight living trees with a dagger like this."

Wave raised a sheathed sword.

"Grand Chariot will help us. Think of how cool it's gonna look when I chop those trees up in my armor. But I'd rather not start a battle 'til we find out which direction to go."

Tatsumi nodded, his eyes following a spider's silent movements as it constructed a web in the moonlight.

"Say..." Wave started. "I know this seems to be a...sensitive subject, but..."

He reverted his eyes to the moon, it's light glistening through the leaves above.

"Do you think you could use your teigu to...you know, get us out of here?"

Tatsumi knew it was only a matter of time before Wave brought that up.

"No..." Tatsumi answered. "I can't."

The distant roar of a danger beast sounded, but was much too far away to warn of danger. Wave fiddled with his bag, pulling out a rice ball.

"The first time I killed someone... I didn't want to touch a blade again."

" _Great_ " thought Tatsumi. " _Just like Esdeath, he thinks he can get me to use that...madness again."_

But something in him listened; his attention perked.

"You know" continued Wave, "...people...people can..."

He let out a sad chuckle.

"...people can be fuckin' crazy sometimes."

The rice ball was suddenly only half a rice ball, Wave taking a big bite out of it. Tatsumi wondered what story Wave's statement entailed, tracing a spiral in the dirt with a stick.

"My mother...arrived home one night. I was preparing a cod I caught that day for dinner...her face was so stained with tears, I asked her what had happened. Two policemen entered after her, they told me to go upstairs. Her voice was so shaky when she told me to leave too, I knew something was going on...upstairs I went. I remember shutting the door to my room, but not going inside, to, you know...make them think I wouldn't hear them."

Another bite was taken from the onigiri. This time, it was barely a nibble.

"They didn't think I would hear them-stupid-of _course_ I fuckin' heard them! Even if I actually went to my room like I was told I bet I could _still_ hear them!"

Another bite, much bigger than the last, taken in a shaking hand.

"Well...I heard enough to know why mom was crying. She was helping a neighbor plant some herbs, and on her way back...two men...hooded _cowards_...one big, the other slim...they snatched her...took her away..."

His jaw seemed to quiver. A grain of rice stuck to his chin, he gulped and scratched it away with his sleeve.

"...when they were done, they ran. My mom...she's so strong...when she saw me...she was so distressed, and she greeted me with that same _fucking_ smile, that same smile that brightened my day every time I saw it...her dried tears stuck to her face like faded tattoos, and she still wanted to make me think...that she was _fucking_ okay..."

Wave panted a few breaths, then let out a deep sigh.

"Next morning...I'm running errands for her...she's too sick to get out of bed...and two cloaked backs face me as I'm getting the scallions...one big, the other healthy-looking and fit...the descriptions for them matched perfectly. Hatchet...the woodcutter's hatchet was lying on a stump...I grabbed it and chopped into the large one's neck. I was small, they didn't realize what I was doing till they were on the ground, bleeding. I jumped onto the tall one's shoulders and he got cut too, the same way. That was the first time I had ever felt...bloodlust. It's such a terrible feeling, you just feel...blackness...all inside you. In your gums, your legs, your skin...everywhere. And it drains all your energy when it leaves, you don't want to do anything but lie there and think about what you've done, like it's punishing you for being its host. I had killed my neighbor, Mr. Ross, and his son, who was about our age. They had just arrived back from a fishing voyage that same morning. There was no _way_ it was them. A lot of things happened after that, tried at the village court, they let me go with banishment instead of death, taking into account how understandably upset I was about my mother...so I did what any other idiot would do...join the fuckin' Navy. It payed well after I was promoted, but...I was forced to kill more people...shoot anyone the Minister didn't like."

The riceball was now gone, swallowed after a nervous frenzy of ravenous bites.

"I got used to it. Sometimes, when I was in the thick of it too long, I found myself enjoying it. Became a game to me. A tribe of islanders kept the empire from mining there, so we all landed and slaughtered them. I took out more of them then anyone in my entire regiment, so they gave me a teigu. An 'imperial arms' or something, really pretentious fucking title. After that we hopped to another island. Same deal, kill the opposition, for the glory of the imperial machine. Again, I made it a little game for myself. For every enemy warrior killed, I awarded myself with one piece of soggy bread. One day, I saw a woman. Big woman, knew she was pregnant. And all I remember thinking...all I remember thinking was...'wow, if I kill her, that means I killed _two_ bad guys, and I get _two_ pieces of soggy bread.' I shot her through the stomach, waited for the scream, than a bullet in her head. That night, I was on watch, when I realized what I had done. I killed a pregnant woman in cold blood. The sarge kept slapping me to shut me up, I'm surprised my screaming didn't alert any guerrillas to our camp. I think that's when the brass decided I was losing it, and thanks to my exceptional use of my teigu, I was transferred here, to the Jaegers. Another pretentious fuckin' name, if you ask me."

Tatsumi never realized the boy in front of him, the one who had pestered him and smiled such a mischievous smile, could also have experienced so much pain in his life. He had never thought he would regret his treatment of Wave before now.

"Sorry, didn't mean to tell you my life story..." chuckled Wave. "Guess what I'm trying to say is that...it gets better. I was losing my mind in the Navy, and you might think the teigu is driving you crazy, but...it gets better. Now I'm here, with the Jaegers, and life is great. We're a police force, we protect the innocent. Unlike in the Navy, I can fight for something that...isn't... _stupid_. I'm not trying to force you to think anything, but...you don't need to be afraid of that teigu if you're using it for good, if you're using it to protect others. I had to use Grand Chariot to kill pregnant women and kids. Be thankful that you don't have to do the same."

Both were silent for some moments. Wave's mood slowly lifted, while Tatsumi quietly reflected on what Wave said.

" _I can...use Scar...to protect people..."_

Another roar sounded, much closer this time.

"Damn...looks like a beast is coming...really big one too" Wave observed.

The moonlight went black for a second, alarming them of danger above.

The roadside next to the canopy was filled with a distressing presence, the flapping of wings shaking the trees as the ground vibrated.

Esdeath patted his rough skin.

"Good, Talon. Your mistress is most pleased."

Talon roared in acknowledgment.

She turned to look at Seyru, who was sitting behind her.

"We will stop here. I want Koro to sniff them out, understand?"

"Yes, aun-Esdeath!"

"And beware! I can feel a presence, maybe two, watching us."

"Yes, Esdeath!"

Esdeath drew her sword and hopped from the dragon, the dirt crunching beneath her boots, hand keeping her cap steady.

She looked up and found the man she was looking for.

"The trail of fluid from that ground squid you left shines in the moonlight like my love for you, Tatsu-bunny" She sighed. "Did you think you could escape your training, Tatsumi?"

"Poetry doesn't suit you. And we only got lost-"

"Did you really think you could deny me my Tatsu-bunny time?"

Even in the dark she knew his face must be beet-red now.

"You and Wave need to come with us. It is past 9:30. Our danger beast hunt will begin the second we land at the top of Mount Fake."

Esdeath raised her voice.

"...and you can come out, too, Wave. There's no need for hiding from me, I won't punish you for getting lost."

Wave timidly stepped onto the path, a snicker threatening to explode from his shaking body.

"T-T-Tastu-bunny!" he squealed.

...

The flight to Mount Fake's peak was terribly cold, even in the temperate climate of the Capitol. Strong wind from Talon's speed and his strong wings blew past his all shivering passengers. Esdeath's powers allowed her to be unperturbed by the cold, while and Wave complained frequently.

"A good chill warms the human ability" she frequently reminded. "You must be accustomed to low temperatures if you do not wish to be weak."

Esdeath reached to caress Tatsumi's knee behind her.

"You are fine with the cold?" she asked.

He rubbed his arms to warm them.

"I'm fine."

"Good boy. That's because of your teigu's benefits. The extract should allow you to be tolerant of low temperatures."

Tatsumi panged with annoyance. Esdeath's mention of his teigu seemed forced; as if she was subtly reminding him of his reluctant powers.

The pinnacle of Mount Fake was a large, rocky crater the size of a small country. Mesas and other sculptures of rock were strewn across the landscape, taking in various shapes and sizes. Some of the most dangerous monsters on the mountain resided in this crater. Though Mount Fake has been dormant for two centuries, it was rumored that the government secretly knew volcano was active, and a massive eruption was to occur, unknown to the average citizen.

"Alright, everyone!" announced Esdeath. "We are to perform a danger beast hunt at this location from now until I give the signal. And trust me..."

She stared at Tatsumi, who scratched his head and chuckled nervously.

"...you will know it when you see it."

Tatsumi moved to follow Wave, ready for his first training session with his fellow Jaegers. He moved three steps before slight pressure clamped around his neck. Turning, he noticed Esdeath had a collar fitted on him, a familiar expression on her face. He glanced back, to see the rest of the Jaegers rushing away, Wave giving a wink and two finger salute.

"You're not going anywhere, baby."

"Wh-what is this-"

He gasped in surprise as she pulled the chain attached to the collar.

"We're going to see each other fight and we're going to enjoy it."

"Wait-I thought..."

Her warm breath smothered his ear, her tongue lightly flicking over it through her words.

"What? Did you think you could run from me with your new boyfriend? I can give _so_ much more than _he_ can."

"I don't want to play any of your games right now, if you want me to hunt with you, than just tell me!"

The presence behind him stood silent, than stroked his cheek.

"That tone you have when you're annoyed...it turns me on so much..."

His cheeks puffed red as he reached behind his neck, fiddling with the collar.

"It's alright, I'll take care of that..." whispered Esdeath.

He sighed as his neck was freed.

"I can't believe you sometimes." He stated, rubbing his neck.

"You like it when I make you my little plaything, don't you Tatsu-bunny."

"Th-that's besides the point..."

He quieted down as Esdeath gripped his hand, leading him behind an outcropping.

"I want to see you kill something again. I want to see your natural prowess at work..." She said as her hand brushed his crotch. "Maybe I'll reward you..."

A low growl sounded behind the rock. Slapping her hand away, he pulled his dagger and looked at Esdeath with new, stern eyes.

"I said...no more...fucking... _games._ "

Her only reply was a satisfied grin. The more she provoked him, the sexier he seemed to get.

 _Die_

The short blade sliced into the large, spider-like danger beast's face. Covering the gash with it's two front legs, the spider screeched in pain. The scream was cut short when it was decapitated, black blood pouring from the thorax. Esdeath watched, her grin widening as the white of her uniform became pockmarked in deep red. Another spider tackled him to the ground. After a brief struggle, the creature was limp and fell away from Tatsumi's body, which was now drenched in blood.

"Yes, baby. You're getting the hang of it" praised Esdeath.

A pair of arachnids crawled from their burrows, their spindly legs creaking like wood from heavy joints. They moved for Esdeath, who stood motionless, her grin grated down to a smirk. It was barely a moment before Tatsumi's knife was upon them, tearing into one's head before slaughtering the next as if it were a pig.

"Oh, you knight in shining armor" she crooned.

A tingle shivered down her spine as his eyes focused on her, a strange look overcoming them. She felt her arousal grow as he stabbed another beast, stomping it's head as it quivered on the ground.

"Your demeanor sometimes makes me forget that you're an experienced hunter."

"Trust me, I don't enjoy it like you do" he responded, sidestepping a lunging spider. His arm was around the creature's neck before it passed him, the blade diving into it's brain. It's mandible's spread as it screeched and collapsed.

Esdeath strode to him, hand resting on her sword's hilt. Her hand slapped against his chest, wet with dark black blood. Tatsumi stood, apparently emotionless. One of her fingers raised in front of his face, dark liquid dripping from her tip.

"Tatsumi. Suck."

His stern eyes hid quiet uncertainty, that only Esdeath, even in her short time with him could see.

"Do you think you can defy your lover? Suck, Tatsumi."

His lack of surprise scared himself. A part of him was afraid that Esdeath's ferocity would affect him; changing him into someone that not even Ieyasu would recognize. And now, her behavior refused to shock him. But the rest of him saw Esdeath's company as a benefit. Her teasing, bloodlust, and strength had the ability to harden his mind and body, that is what his heart believed.

"I would hate for the blood to dry on my finger, do as your mistress asks of you."

She smirked as his mouth left her finger, the blood trailing from her finger to his tongue like a vine.

"Good boy." A dome of ice isolated the sinful pair from the world, the organic sounds of screeching and growling juxtaposed with the metallic noise of steel and the release of teigu energy. Esdeath forced his chin to her.

"...and good subordinates get rewarded."

Bright orange flickered across the dome.

"Bols sure is getting to it, isn't he" observed Tatsumi.

"Do not change the subject, slave boy. Your captain orders you to copulate with her. _Now."_

"I said I was done with your games now."

"This is no game slave. You will finally pleasure me as I will pleasure you."

He placed his finger to her lips.

"I thought that was my decision to make."

Her chuckle sounded like music to his ears.

"Frankly, I didn't think you would still hold me to that. Most boys your age would kill to have a chance with me" Esdeath stated before sweeping him to the ground with her leg. "Why don't you act grateful and just submit to my will?"

She sat herself atop his recumbent middle, gasping sharply as pressure squeezed around her breasts. Though it was momentary, he found an unfamiliar satisfaction as her dominating gaze softened.

"Maybe..." his thumb flicked over a smaller lump on her breast. "...maybe I like making you wait."

Her grin returned, her pride in her lover gaining new strength.

"Your new assertiveness is good to see. You are cute when you're submissive, but... when you open up like this.."

Her humid breath cloaked his cheek.

"...I want to _ravage_ you."

"All dirty talk aside, I'm not ready."

Her head raised, sniffing the air. Tatsumi sensed his succubus was suddenly suspicious, her eyes narrowing as her ravenous affection faded away.

"Someone is here. And it's not anyone I am friendly with."

He scanned the area as best he could, the dry rocky dirt grating in his hair.

"You sure?"

His heart sank slightly when she rose from his torso, eyes glancing back and forth quickly, reminding him of a lioness. Not responding to him, Esdeath drew her sword and punched the dome, shattering it into fine, cold powder. Tatsumi found himself again shocked by Esdeath's sheer strength.

" _Even without her teigu she pounded a block of ice into basically snow_. _Incredible_."

"I want you to hide, Tatsumi. I cannot risk your life in a real fight today, not on my lover's birthday."

"Wh-what?" stuttered Tatsumi. Hiding was an option was least comfortable taking.

" _Tatsumi_."

"Y-yes."

He begrudgingly complied, finding a small crater to watch Esdeath from. Being the last person he expected to give such an order, his hesitation was understandable to Esdeath.

" _Now Tatsu-bunny can finally watch me do battle"_ thought Esdeath. " _Now's a good chance to impress him with my fighting abilities."_

"You have the aura of hardened warrior yet you hide your bloodthirst like a child" she called out. "Come out. Any underhanded moves on me will not save you, anyway."

Orange light blinded across Tatsumi's vision. When he opened his eyes, he quickly checked the area, a fading streak of purple still clouding his vision.

A familiar chuckle sounded on his far right. To his relief, Esdeath was unhurt.

"That shot just now... it could only have come from a teigu. If you fail to accept a fair fight, I will simply impale you from underneath with a stake of ice" she proclaimed. "It only takes a snap of my fingers."

Even in the dark, Tatsumi noticed a figure scampering between the countless rocks. He opened his mouth to warn Esdeath, but realized she could already see it. Frozen branches sprouted behind the figure from the black pumice, leading the figure to the ice queen.

"Brace yourself, Tatsumi. If the weapon she is using is what I think it is, than the closer we are to it, the more danger she will be in, and the more danger we will be in as well."

He did not fully understand her, but he crouched lower to the ground.

Another bolt of orange streaked through the night, showering light over him for an instant. Laughter he had never heard, but could tell was Esdeath's, erupted.

"I said..."

A low, wind blew past him, tiny bits of sand and pumice swirling into small tornadoes.

"...your petty tactics won't help!"

A large round shape sped through the darkness in front of him. The same moment, a larger, more robust blast of light shot into the air, vaporizing the mansion-sized form. After the explosion's echo dissipated, he thought he heard a shout in the distance.

"I'm sorry, what was that you said, bratty girl?" Esdeath boasted.

A young woman's voice rang out into Tatsumi's ears.

"I SAID YOU DIE TONIGHT, ICE BITCH."

Peering over the crater, he struggled to make out the source of the sound. Movement at the left of his vision signaled him to a shadow holding a long object. The moonlight allowed him to realize it was a girl, about the same age as he was, perhaps younger. Her hair was bright, and had an angry demeanor.

"You're going to pay for what you did to Lubbock!" she yelled, her voice slowly degrading to a sob. "He didn't deserve that...we...we barely recognized the pictures..."

"That green haired fool that played with yarn? It was not my hands that cracked his skull, freeing his brain from the red bone-"

Bright orange suddenly filled Tatsumi's vision, a loud boom erupting into his ears. When the ringing in his head stopped, he quickly shook the dirt clods and sand from his half buried leg.

"SHUT UP!" the girl shouted.

After rubbing his eyes from the light, Tatsumi noticed Esdeath do the unexpected. His woman sheathed her rapier.

"I'm sure I need not raise my sword for you. I will kill you myself, no weapon needed."

Tatsumi looked at the girl's trembling frame. He initially thought Esdeath had gone insane, but realized her twisted, yet raw logic did not conflict with her decision.

" _That girl is clearly distressed. Esdeath should have no problem killing her, whoever she is."_ He reflected. Than another realization aroused in his mind. The girl's reference to Lubbock must have been the boy he killed, the mad event that led to him refusing his newfound powers.

" _This girl... she's Night Raid..."_

A fourth bright jet beamed above him, moving past the small hole and toward Esdeath.

"Esdeath, look ou-!"

She jumped over the beam as it swung over to her. Upon landing, she charged toward the girl, her cap flying behind her. Even in the dim moonlight he knew she must have had that sadistic grin on her face, the crescent shape of her mouth that injected such mixed feelings in his heart.

Her hand swiped away the girl's rifle, the other colliding into her cheek as a fist. Esdeath's heart swelled in dark excitement as the girl lifted her leg, a kick aimed for her own. Her own knee crashed into the girl's stomach, a throaty groan sounding from the girl's mouth.

"Do you call that..."

The girl was forced against a rock. Both impacts of Esdeath's knee and the stone took their toll on her frail body, the anger-fueled energy to fight leaving her body as quickly as it arrived.

"A KICK?"

Esdeath's boot stomped on the girl's leg. The bone snapped before she cried out, tears falling from her eyes. She sat, her back against the rock, wailing into the moonlight before her screams devolved to heavy, shaking breathing.

"Now do you understand?" asked Esdeath. "You are weak, I don't draw my sword for weaklings. I have you crying at my feet in less than a minute since our one-sided game began."

She waited for a response, but only heard labored breathing.

"I only broke your leg! That's nothing to what I will do to you if you don't tell me where your base is. Now, speak."

No answer.

Spikes of ice impaled each of the girl's arms to the rock. She screamed, though it was much quieter than her first cry.

"You're base, girl. Where is it?"

Esdeath detested the girl more than she had ever hated almost any other enemy, as she saw her as a potential threat to Tatsumi. She had almost killed him with her rifle several times, and decided she was going to make the brat pay. Nevertheless, she found the girl's resilience astounding. Few times had she ever met anyone stubborn enough to resist three broken limbs.

"It seems that superficial, swift pain won't work" she observed aloud. "I will leave you here to die a slow death. I'll find what I want to know myself soon, _real_ soon."

Hoping for the girl to make a rebuke, she waited. When it was clear she would hear no response, she strode away, her chest swelling with anticipation.

" _Tatsumi,"_ she thought. " _I just want to hold you in my arms know. To know that you're safe from that bad, bad girl."_

Even the moonlight couldn't help Tatsumi see the fight between Esdeath and the sniper. Standing to investigate, his thoughts were impeded when his arm was grabbed and a blade pressed to his throat.

"Are you a Jaeger?" questioned a monotone voice. The sentence sounded more like a statement than a question.

"K-Kurome?"

The pressure on his neck increased. Tatsumi realized the flat side of the blade was on his throat, not the edge.

"You must be one. You are a target."

The blade flipped to the other side. Tatsumi's mind raced in desperation.

"N-no, what's a Jaeger?"

The woman behind him spoke again.

"However, a target of greater importance is near. Where is Mine."

"Y-your what?"

"Where is Mine."

His fear faded to familiar anger. This was not new, but he had to suppress it. It was bloodthirst.

"Kill you" he whispered.

"Hmm."

He stomped on the girl's foot, startling her. Taking advantage of the split second he had over her, he fell on his back, essentially tackling her to the ground. Quickly standing and drawing his knife, he turned to cut her throat only to find her sword pointed at his, ready to do the same. To his own shock, he laughed. A sinner's laugh.

"So, shall I move first?" he joked.

"My longer blade give me the advantage. And yet you laugh. You are strange."

Tatsumi lowered his arm and stepped back.

"Get up. Let's fight this like they do in the comics."

"Com-ics?"

"I mean a fair fight. I won't go easy on you."

She attacked, thrusting her blade to his throat again. Expecting the move, Tatsumi parried her sword with his dagger. To keep her from swinging, he attempted to grab her sword hand.

"TATSUMI! NO!"

It was the first time he had ever heard Esdeath's voice with such desperation. Startled, he glanced to her direction when a sharp pain cut into his abdomen.

" _I can't move them...my legs..."_

His vision blurred, but could make out the girl's shape retreating. Shortly afterwards, Esdeath's comforting presence loomed over him.

Never before had Esdeath had her constitution so conflicted. She wanted to slaughter the swordswoman with her bare hands. She wanted to beat herself for being afraid that Tatsumi was going to die. She wanted to believe he was too weak, and his passing will have no importance to her. She wanted to hold him against her, looking into his eyes as they steadily grew blank. She wanted to be there for him, during his last moments, she wanted to be the last thing he saw before his death. Esdeath didn't believe in an afterlife, but if there was, she wanted to be the only memory for him to take to the next world.

She stood for a moment, then dropped to her knees. Tatsumi's form never comforted her as it did now, even in his last moments, when he choked on his own blood, she needed to hold him, to keep what was given and then taken from her in just a matter of weeks.

"I-It's..."

"Don't speak...be still Tatsumi."

"S-so...cold..."

"No...don't say that...please don't suffer Tatsumi..."

His middle felt unbelievably cold. Even through her resistance to cold, the chill on his abdomen tightened the nerves on her hands.

"Oh, god, it's cold...stop it, Esdeath, make it stop..."

She hurriedly lifted his shirt, and gasped. His bleeding had completely stopped. The cut from the swordswoman was reduced to a thin dark mark. The chill slowly left his body, the same warmth that enveloped her dreams for so few nights returning.

"Tatsumi..."

He let out a groan.

"What happened...is this heaven..."

"No Tatsu-bunny...it's..."

She couldn't resist anymore. For the first time in years, she allowed the tears to fall.

"Esdeath-are you okay?"

The pressure around his body intensified, warm tears falling on his face. Her hands enveloped his cheeks. Knowing what was coming he raised his own to her head, relishing her soft hair and skin running through his scarred hands.

As far as he was concerned, tonight was Tatsumi's first real kiss.


	10. Author's Note

Author's Note:

Thank you all for following the story so far. Esdeath has always been a favorite character of mine, and I am glad you all have been supporting what is, essentially, my own personal fantasy brought to life through a fanfiction site.

I am writing to inform you all that yes, I am continuing this work. Things have gotten in the way, and chapters are going to be taking a very long time to finish from now on, but Esdeath and Tatsumi are going to continue their little escapades. No promises, but, I'd say each chapter would average a month's time to complete-month and a half tops. I don't see myself abandoning this story anytime soon, even as I'm leaving for college. So don't worry, I know you can't get enough of our favorite blue-haired vixen like me so I won't just leave you all hanging.

Ciao.


	11. Good Doctor

The power to create is what separates the man from the filth; to start a fire from wood and energy, to form a spear from a branch, to make bow from birch. That was the power to create.

The doctor knew how to create.

"Did you enjoy your escapade, Sokolov?"

His General's voice soothed his ears; the girl held charisma in her entire body, from her veins to the vocal chords.

"Pardon me...did you enjoy your mission, _Stylish_?"

His glasses lifted from his face.

"I did, my General Esdeath" he replied, rubbing his lenses on a white collar. "...again, I must apologize; asking of such a long leave of you-"

Esdeath's pale hand raised to silence him.

"Your contribution to the Jaegers is invaluable. So when you deem it best to travel for your research, then travel is what you must do."

"Generous as always, my Captain."

"Where is Run? He is rarely tardy, he must have good reason to be late."

"That excellent specimen of a young man will arrive shortly, he was bogged down by...another mob, if you know what I mean."

Duplicated lanterns lined both sides of the hall. The dim yellow light glowered onto Stylish, his travel-weary stubble and shadowed face reminding Esdeath of a tired ghost.

"There needs to be some electricity in this hall." groaned Stylish. "I'll have my team work on that."

"There have been some changes while you were away, Stylish."

"Oh? Like what?"

"A new recruit. A young man."

"Interesting. Is he young? I would like to meet him."

Esdeath led him down the hallway, the dark windows revealing a quiet night.

"Stylish."

"Mmm?"

"He's off the table."

"My my, I don't understand..."

Her sudden change in tone wiped the smirk off his face.

"He's _mine_. _All. Mine."_

Her eyes were widened in an expressionless visage that made his throat quake. The pair had both stopped moving, Stylish realizing his absence left him forgetting how to act in front of his General.

The doctor cleared his throat.

"Apologies. I understand."

Their feet moved again, but Stylish's were more careful, as if any creak made on the floorboards would trigger that variant of Esdeath he had just witnessed.

"His name..." he mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"So...what's his name?"

"My _lover's_ name is...Tatsumi."

She did not say his name, she breathed it.

"Tat...sumi, huh. An oriental."

"Yes...and, his green eyes compliment his tan complexion so well...he is one of a kind."

"Perhaps he is a product of two races. Quite rare in these parts, to see someone like that."

They tread further into the hall, before coming upon a dark set of wooden double doors.

"Before I let you rest in the quarters, I have an interesting bit of news for you" the general proclaimed.

"...and that is...?"

"Tatsumi survived a cut from Murasame." Stylish's eyebrows rose, prompting Esdeath to continue; "I believe his teigu had something to do with it. Regardless, I think he will make an interesting specimen for you."

"You may be right. It is safe to assume I can't be too thorough, correct?"

"You are very correct, Doctor."

"Than I shall take my leave of you, General."

"Good night, Stylish."

Esdeath watched the dark oak doors open then close, Stylish's white coat trailing behind. The man had momentarily forgotten his place, but she realized that was partly her own fault. After all, there was no way he could have known Tatsumi was her lover, and Stylish was by no means unruly with his desires when they conflicted with a superior's.

" _Nothing to worry about"_ she assured herself.

For the first time that day, she sighed. A great, genuine sigh. Her day was done, the night was still young.

Now to see the only man she had ever looked forward to seeing.

Swing

 _Punch_

Swing

 _Punch_

His arms had been pounding the bag for two hours now, his rate of impact slowed to one, clumsy hit with every sway of the bag.

Tatsumi was finally satisfied.

He could now let himself rest, but his mind wouldn't. He had faced danger many times before meeting Esdeath, but the feeling of a blade-a blade held by a human at that, on his throat was dreadfully new. The thought of him being so close to death scared him.

And that one girl…

That girl with the rifle.

 _I wonder where she is now._

He had tried asking Esdeath about their battle four nights ago, but couldn't seem to get any substantial answer. Often she would begin to explain like he asked any other question, only to trail off her words. Sometimes she would grab him and kiss him with sudden urgency.

His exhausted tanned arms gently peeled away velcro straps, they're ripping echoing through the training hall as if a swarm of wasps briefly entered the room and disappeared as suddenly as they arrived. Black, musty boxing gloves fell to the stone brick below as heavy wood doors cracked open, the cocking of their steel handles shooting to his ears.

His woman's voice sounded into his mind, imprinting itself onto his skin, her intent shaking through his frame. But a part of him was still afraid of change; unsure of anything drastic, he needed to hear her again.

"I'm tired, I can't-"

"You heard me" came her response, her voice like stone.

In a moment the cool skin of her arms was upon his wet torso, snaking under damp cotton to caress his middle. He jerked, but submitted to her in an instant.

"I smell" he told her weakly.

"I don't care" she responded, her tone hinting of scolding. "...sweaty or not, you're still you, correct?"

His heart rose to his throat as he watched her sinful hands dance beneath his shirt. He gasped in surprise when they disappeared, her touch surfacing to his back and ripping the rear of his shirt open. His back arched as something wet briefly slid up his shoulder, before he stepped away to face her.

"What did you just-"

With beautifully lurid eyes she dominated his view.

"I love your taste, Tatsumi."

Blood rushed to his cheeks as she chuckled.

"...and don't think I forgot what I'm here for. Don't pretend you didn't hear me the first time."

Tatsumi, as tired as he was, became flustered. He needed more time to get used to her games, whenever she spoke with such intent it seemed she was reeling him closer and closer like a fish. He was unsure if he disliked that feeling, as it was with many other things Esdeath did to him.

"I want to wash up together, Tatsumi. I want to caress each other's bodies, I want to wash your back. Understand?"

With a grip that could shatter glass, she grabbed his arm and dragged him from the room, into the dim outer halls of the palace, giggling at his squeals in pain.

"Ow,ow,ow! I can walk myself, it's not like I'll run awa-"

Esdeath suddenly stopped, the pressure of her grip lightened. Tatsumi curiously watched her face, he found that most of the time he had no idea what she was thinking.

"Hmmm...that may not be so bad..." she muttered.

"What?"

An ominous chuckle sounded throughout the wooden hall.

"Running away" she replied; hand on his cheek, the other letting go of his hand. "...I want you to run from me. I'll give you twenty seconds, then I'll come for you. If you hide from me till...say, ten o' clock, you win."

"And if I lose?"

She laughed again.

"I haven't decided yet... so many things I want from you... that only you can give, Tatsu-bunny..."

He found his heart swell at her words, but pressed it back down. Though losing didn't seem so bad, he still wanted to at least say he won their little game. To claim at least one victory, however small, against the tormenting woman of his midnight dreams suddenly rose among his immediate priorities.

"Alright, I'm hiding now" he warned with a smile.

"Good; I've been counting since I challenged you. Run quickly, you have ten seconds now."

He opened his mouth to argue, but realized it was no use. His feet moved for him, finding their way to Esdeath's bedroom. Hiding in the one place he should be avoiding may throw her off long enough to win, he hoped.

Stylish loved the smell.

The smell of _sanitation_.

The scent of smoke, the slow, methodical ambience of discovery and progress that pulsed like blood throughout the laboratory.

The scent and sound of the lab poured through his senses as he scrutinized a small, crystalline form through a microscope. He thanked whatever god was our there, dead or non-existent, for the fact that Esdeath's ice was somehow heat-resistant.

He rotated the slide to a different sample. This was ice freshly chipped from a block in the freezer, and yet already the orange and purple prisms of the crystalline structure were dissipating to liquid. He quickly placed a small rag around the slide and focused back onto the first one. Esdeath's creation held different structure to it; instead of the unruly rhombus-like pattern of the former, her ice held order- small triangles filled the lens like a jigsaw, unmoving in the lukewarm temperature of the lab. The ice was not only different in shape, but in color too. Unlike in the first sample, light played a different game with her ice. The candle light of the lab did not separate into different waves upon reaching the ice, but stayed together. This allowed the ice to keep it's glass texture, even under the heavy lenses of the microscope.

"Amazing" the doctor muttered.

He regretted that he may have spoken too loudly as he heard Seryu sigh, forewarning of an unwanted conversation.

"Did something happen doctor?" Asked her unassuming voice.

Stylish forced a chuckle.

"No...just speaking to myself."

"Well, if you need anything, ask me doctor."

"I'm fine, really."

Stylish found that Seryu was not an easy person to cease speaking to; not because she was friendly, but because she was _too_ friendly. He had already checked up on her body and weapons, why was she still here? Luckily, a heavy knock on the rustic oak door eliminated any dread Stylish had for speaking with Seryu.

"That banging can only be from one person" he muttered to himself, taking care to be much quieter before calling to the door. "Come in, Daidara."

Closing the door behind him before nodding to Seyru, the man with the build of a berserker pulled a stool from a desk and sat next to her. He laid one arm on the desk and used the other to pat Koro.

"Get to it big brains" he growled.

Stylish paced to Daidara, a white syringe in his gloved hand.

"One step ahead of you, Daidara."

He plucked a cap from the top of the syringe, revealing a blue metal plunger. The needle was slowly injected into Daidara's branch-like arm, than Stylish's thumb pushed clear liquid into the limb. The berserker shivered as the needle left his skin.

"I like it" he praised.

"Good" responded the doctor, waving toward the door. "...now off you go."

The halls seemed to be the color of sand in the candlelight as Daidara left the lab. Glancing to the left, he noticed an unwelcome presence.

"Butt out, River."

River breathed in from his pipe and exhaled, his face seeming to study the ceiling in the dim light.

"How many times, soldier" sighed River. "How many goddamn times?"

River only heard silence, and the heavy rain falling outside. It was many moments before he spoke again.

"I don't trust that man, Daidara. The Three Beasts already hold enough issues, we don't need one of us to be a guinea pig for some-"

"He said it'll-"

"...crack with a few screws loose-"

"...he said-"

"...and you don't know why he's-"

"Shut up!"

River faced his subordinate, his head tilted and eyes hidden by the intense shadow play of the torchlight, inviting Daidara to speak.

"I get a funny feeling about him too, sir. But he's th' least of my worries. All I want to do is fight, you know that! And if I see somethin' to help me win, I take't!" Daidara took a moment to lick his lips. "He said it'll give me strength, and more time to train, so t'hell with what th' risks may be!"

River pinched his forehead before running his hand through long, tired gray hair.

"You want to win" he observed. "I see."

He reached for Daidara's boulder shoulders, his sternness never leaving his face.

"A deal. We will make a deal."

"A deal?"

"A deal. We're following the general on a...campaign of sorts. Let's take this as an opportunity to test how useful Mr. Stylish's magic is-"

"Sounds alright."

"Let me finish. If his product flops, Lady Esdeath will know about it...and you."

Daidara flinched.

"...if't doesn't work...alright, got it."

River patted one shoulder.

"Good. So we're in agreement?"

"Mhmm."

"Are we-"

"Yes! It's a deal!" Daidara, exasperated, yelled. "Done deal! A done fuckin' deal!"

River grunted in faint appreciation, patting the soldier's shoulder with one hand. Avoiding further eye contact, he turned and headed for the stairway to his quarters, Daidara watching him before doing the same.

The room he shared with her was completely empty, only moonlight and the chain in the wall emitted any presence.

 _Where should I hide_ thought Tatsumi.

Esdeath had obviously been bluffing about the time she gave for him to run, as more than ten seconds passed as he scampered through the white halls of the upper palace. If she had really given him ten seconds, her hands would be around his neck by now, tongue tracing down his cheek.

Though the moon shone brightly through the grandiose windows, he stood at the doorway, waiting for his eyesight to adjust.

Moments later a lamp on the far side next to the bed faded into view; he could see now. After shimmying underneath the bed he ran a hand through his hair and lay in wait.

A few minutes must have passed before he finally began to hear human noises. Two male voices fluctuated through the hall outside, muffled by the closed door. He realized one of the voices belonged to River, and the other was interestingly familiar. He felt the second belonged to someone he should recognize, but couldn't figure out who he was.

Their mumblings quickly dissipated among their footsteps before one of them cackled, followed by River's disapproving grunt.

That laugh could only have been one person's—Ieyasu.

After so much traveling, Ieyasu had finally arrived at the Capitol. Judging from River's explanatory tone, Ieyasu must have only just got back from The Hog. One of his best friends was strolling only a few meters from the door, Tatsumi could easily just run outside and say hello.

But Ieyasu kept walking, to his own surprise, Tatsumi made no sound.

While he wanted to show his friend how well he was doing, he did not move an inch.

" _I should be excited, why don't I want to see him?"_

The excitement wasn't there. His visualization of him greeting Ieyasu almost seemed... awkward. As if they had been away from each other too long.

He watched the breeze blow a small bed feather across the white tile when a thought realized in him.

" _What if I changed too much?"_

Tatsumi held a hand in front his face. He turned it to see his palm facing him, running his thumb underneath the fingers. Thick, rough calluses touched his nail, they hadn't been there before. Punching the hands together, he noticed his knuckles had hardened. Martial arts training from Esdeath had improved his ability and stretched the muscle. His hand reached under his shirt, sliding up his developed body until it reached the chest. He rubbed his fingers on the breast and looked at them, as if expecting them to be smudged with ink.

" _I also killed someone."_

He pushed the sinking feeling in his shoulders down, he refused to think he was guilty; this issue had been resolved as far as he cared, or allowed himself to care.

He sighed as the breeze blew through his hair. The feather fluttered across the floor some more, before taking more air and floating disorderly behind the right bedpost. Tatsumi realized there were no open windows when he first entered the chambers.

Gasping, he snapped to his left and found an amused face winking at him, her hair spread across the floor, shining silver in the moonlight.

"How the hell did-"

Esdeath held two fingers.

"Two minutes Tatsu-bunny. You lasted ten minutes, and I was next to you, blowing for two of those ten."

He scrambled from under the bed, slightly relieved the game was over. Stretching out his back, he groaned.

"How'd you find me?" he asked.

"I didn't" she chuckled, rising from her stomach. "I was just here to take a nap when I found you."

"Liar."

"Of course, that was a lie. In reality, the spirits of the danger beasts you killed pointed the direction, growling 'please, kill this man.'"

Esdeath strode to him, shoving him to the white sheets. He struggled half-heartedly, and chuckled deeply as she slowly licked his face.

"You sweat so much back there I could smell you baby" she explained. "Opening the door would have made noise, so I entered through the window."

She licked him again.

"Salt-face" she added.

Forcing a gasp of surprise from her, he placed a knee under her crotch and flipped her over so he was atop of her. Before she could retaliate, he left the bed and staggered backwards toward the bathroom.

"I thought you said something about washing up" Tatsumi thought aloud. "What're you on the bed for?"

He found himself both aroused and afraid when she grinned.

"You bitch." she remarked, rolling off the bed and moving quickly to him.

Her hand pushed him into the bathroom before grabbing his falling body by the collar.

"I should punish you right now" she continued, her smile never leaving her face as she ripped the shirt open. "Get in th-"

"Hey, wait I liked that sh-"

"I'll buy another! Get in the tub!"

She was completely serious now, her urgency vibrated through the room.

Tatsumi hurriedly took off his pants and footwear, shocked by the decrease in his usual shame. The cold material of the shower cooled his rough toes as he turned to see Esdeath was already bare, and moving upon him.

He could barely gasp before her lips violently planted themselves to his, her tongue snaking through his opened jaw. His hand reached to the knob behind to start the water, squeezing it when her hand gripped his crotch.

"What the hell is this, slave" her voice scolded, her eyes looking down on him as water ran through her long blue hair.

"I-I..."

The pressure of her hand was immediately replaced by the sharp snap of his damp underwear tearing from his waist.

"Don't _ever_ do that again." She growled before her mouth invaded his again.

His knees briefly moved to cross his exposed area, but her hand prevented them from doing so. Her hand was stroking him as he quickly stiffened, his moaning muffled by her mouth from her savage touch.

Unsure of what to do, his hands strayed down her body, brushing the thighs. He stopped as she shivered and groaned sharply. Taking this as a sort of rejection, he let his hands hang limply at his sides.

Her mouth left his, a cold look in her eyes.

"Don't stop that. Continue."

He moved his hands again, deciding to rub her inner thighs. Suddenly she rotated him to face the wall, his shoulders sinking in shame. He couldn't help but feel he had disappointed her with his failure.

"S-sorry..." he muttered before cold shot down his back. He twitched from the sudden chill, than relaxed as her hands rubbed the soap into his body. Moments later he found she started using only one hand to wash him; he could picture what the other hand was doing.

To her satisfaction, Tatsumi knew what to do when she was done washing him without having to say anything. Her back faced him and she moaned as she pleasured herself, the soap and Tatsumi's rough hands adding a contrast of feeling to her body.

"Mmmph...yes, baby" she praised, her mood lightening. She hoped that touching her body and the sight of her masturbating would arouse him even more than he already was, and when she looked back, she found this to have payed off. He seemed dazed, the same look he had the first time he admitted he was hers, and sucked her finger.

"My chest Tatsu-bunny. Wash it."

He only grunted in response, his hands groping and rubbing her large breasts.

"Mmm...Tatsumi-"

Tatsumi couldn't take it anymore; he wanted to feel something too. When all the soap ran down to the drain, he grabbed her hand and tried to pull her from the shower. His pleading look pleased her as she held on to the faucet, refusing to budge.

"Did you forget who's in charge? I pay your paycheck, after all."

It was her turn to make the other wait.

She slowly stepped out, rubbing her hair with a white towel. When she had dried herself, she wrapped the towel around him.

"Has anyone ever told you how sexy your body is?"

Tatsumi answered with his lustful breathing.

"We both are just so beautiful, Tatsumi. Aren't we so perfect together?"

Tatsumi felt the pain of his hair being pulled across the room, before soft duvet greeted his back. He was being tortured, he needed pleasure now, and Esdeath was taking her time, climbing onto him slowly.

"Esdeath...hurry..."

Her tongue traveled down his body, his heart thumping heavier than before at the promise of his wishes being fulfilled.

"...please..."

He let out a low groan as her lips finally enclosed around his member for the second time. Briefly he wondered if he could ever get used to this feeling, before her tongue slid over and he ceased to think clearly. All his mind held was the feeling of intense, organic pleasure. Her moans vibrated through his manhood, giving his ecstasy more depth that he wondered if he could ever put into words. She felt amazing, it was all that mattered to him.

She slid from him just as she tasted salty bitterness, he was close. She opened her mouth to tease him, but decided against it. Words might dampen the ordeal for him, she thought.

She reached to her own self, creating a game for her to see if she can climax at the same time he did. She let her hot breath warm his tip as she did her best to come short of reaching her limit.

He reached to stroke himself, only for the sharp pain of her pinch to keep him from doing so. Instead, he reached for her left breast, flicking the thumb over her supple nipple as he traced around the center. Her moans turned him on even more, but not to the point where it became unbearable.

She kissed his member repeatedly as she felt herself coming to a close. He removed his hand to give her room as she moved her head up and down again, tongue flicking around his head.

"Oh god..."

His neck arched as he stared into the blank ceiling, struggling to keep from bucking.

Willing to experiment, she attempted to push her lips to his base, but found herself unable. Regardless, the feeling of his tip against the soft of her throat was unbearable.

"I'm close Esdeath...ughhh..."

She rose from him and coughed, needing some more air before going down again. She softly stroked before quickly taking him in, but not as deep. Her movements quickened her hand on his orbs and the other in herself, her moaning intensified.

" _Ugh_...ahh..."

Realizing she was going to lose her game, she decided it was of no real importance and continued in Tatsumi. He let our broken, throaty groan as he finished her moaning reverberating through his head. The slight suction told him she had swallowed again, to his sinful pleasure.

"Oh my _god_ " he praised. "That was _amazing_."

He found it strange that Esdeath didn't respond, and found it was because she was busily indulging herself. Her tightened expression, arched back, and crossed legs looked so wonderful to him, he had to help her.

He pulled her hand away and enclosed his mouth around her breast, but putting more effort into his fingers then his tongue. Replicating her movements from before, he hoped to please her the same way she pleased him. Esdeath seemed much taken aback, as she didn't say anything or move, except to jerk in response to his hand. Not feeling anything but the motion of his fingers at first, her sensitivity slowly began to grow.

"Ugggh...Tatsumi...so full of sur-uh-prises, aren't you-agghhh...uhhhhhh..."

Than Tatsumi triggered her femininity with a few words.

"I just wanted to make you come" he whispered, before licking her ear.

She opened her mouth in a soundless groan, before shutting her eyes tight and moaning intensely. Tatsumi's fingers began to tire, but he refused to stop. His continued action forced out of her three more orgasms, her noises music to his ears.

"Guhh...ahhh...Tatsu-mi...I luhh...ahh...I love you-ahhhh!"

With no hesitation, he reciprocated.

"I love you too, Esdeath."

He sucked on her breast again, flicking her clit this time to give a fourth and final orgasm.

"Ohhh goooodd...!"

She clutched him tightly, biting her lip and groaning again. He smiled at her legs quaking around him with each orgasm, immediate feedback for his movements. He slowed for a moment before pulling his fingers out, more than satisfied with tonight.

Suddenly Esdeath's hand pushed him to the mattress; dread filled his heart.

 _Is she seriously not done yet?_

But to his relief, she entered the covers and wrapped her arms around him, giggling in content.

"I've heard some of my female soldiers talk about being "dick-drunk.' I believe this is somewhat what it feels like, but you never put it in."

Tatsumi was too tired to blush.


	12. Medicine Man

It was hard for him to imagine why there was such tension in the Jaeger's quarters during that morning's breakfast. Sure, he had arrived late, but nothing important was scheduled today, so it should have been no surprise to his comrades when Run entered the palace room with his blond hair disheveled and eyes bagged, the sunlight drowning the walls in bright orange.

Esdeath seemed irritated, her aura intimidating her company into silence. Kurome was the only person to acknowledge him; giving him a brief nod while Esdeath's sharp voice pierced the room.

"...this wasn't supposed to _happen_!"

He carefully took a seat next to Kurome, suddenly taking interest in the empty table mat in front of him. His shoulders tensed more when his commander continued her rant.

"He must have left early in the morning! It's seven thirty now, he isn't on some _jog_...no, I remember it-"

She dug her nails into her eyebrows frustratedly.

"...I remember it... I was barely awake... I wasn't holding him tightly enough and he slipped from my grasp... he kissed my forehead and... _dammit_."

Run sighed; she wasn't talking about him like he initially thought, so he didn't have to worry.

 _Wait...kissed?_

 _Holding him tightly?_

Esdeath _never_ said those things.

Run's mind raced; what could she even be talking about? When he first met Esdeath, he had thought she was going to be an old maid with her attitude, there's no way she could possibly find a lover-

A lurid thought passed through his mind, his cheeks slowly fading into red.

 _She doesn't have a real boyfriend; perhaps she purchased a body pillow... of her favorite character?_

It made some sense... the strong and hard headed General Esdeath needing someone to show her soft side to, resorting to a 2D lover because of her overly complicated standards...

He nodded his head; in his time as a teacher he had witnessed quite a few students go down that route.

His head shook; he remembered that pillows couldn't go on early morning jogs.

 _It couldn't be..._

His mind ceased to think, deciding it would be better to listen to Esdeath some more before jumping to conclusions.

A few moments passed before Daidara entered the room, a blond boy and River following suit.

Having let out her frustration, Esdeath smiled at them, before facing back to the Jaegers.

"I thought it would be a nice surprise for everyone if the Three Beasts made breakfast for today's meeting."

Run exchanged nervous glances with his comrades; Daidara _never_ cooked, and for good reason.

The hulking, burly man stepped forward and moved to place a plate in front of Esdeath before her finger stopped his hand.

"Sushi?" she asked, smiling at him.

He shook his head.

"Baked salmon" he grunted. "Your fav-"

Her fist shot him into the yellow wall, her mouth cresented in a controlled smile.

"If you are stupid enough to cook raw meat for me, how can you expect to survive when you make your _own_ meal out in the field?"

Daidara protected his pride like a rabid dog, but was smart enough to take in his captain's words soundlessly.

"Yes... madam..."

"Get back in the kitchen; you're washing our dishes today."

River and the boy moved, placing pieces of salmon for the rest of the Jaegers, Daidara's dish quickly replaced.

"Thank you River" Esdeath said, "…you and Nyau made these, correct?"

"Yes, my lady" answered River.

"Thank goodness" Run thought. "This was just another one of her _lessons_."

It wasn't long before Kurome complained; she hated seafood, and preferred the usual serving of rice gruel.

"The gruel barrel...seems to have been misplaced..." replied Nyau, nervously eyeing Esdeath.

...

Earth rumbled below Tatsumi's boots as he strolled through the path, a large can strapped to his back. Clods of dirt fell from the cliff beside him, followed by an uprooted tree. He cursed as it smashed in front of him, splinters shooting across the ground and through the air. After realizing he wasn't hurt, the same words circled around his head for the hundredth time.

" _I couldn't just leave her, not when I realized what happened. I just couldn't."_

A broken growl above him gave way to a horrible squeal before the long body of an earth dragon fell behind the log, before sliding into the valley below. Tatsumi listened for the resounding boom, but heard nothing. Another growl and beastly panting sounded above him before disappearing.

...

Her condition seemed to have worsened, but she refused to show it. Despite her will, the darkened circles under her eyes and shaking hands revealed everything Tatsumi needed to know; she needed help.

"Go...away..." she croaked with every spoonful of gruel he gave her. But he couldn't. Leaving people to die slowly was something Tatsumi believed he just couldn't do, no matter how long he stayed in Esdeath's company.

" _Esdeath..."_ he thought.

One night as he lay awake with her, he asked her something. He wanted to know how she felt about him as a warrior.

"...as a warrior..." she had whispered. "...as a warrior you're too merciful; too easy on the weak."

Esdeath then started to allude his first kill, and how he reacted then. Tatsumi acknowledged that she was right, but wished aloud she didn't bring that up. What happened in that alleyway was still far too intense, like a needle in the velvet of his memory.

Thinking about Esdeath made his hand stop momentarily, and the girl in front of him furrowed her eyebrows as much as she could, like a weak child trying to show defiance in the face of a father's punishment. Shaking himself out of his trance, he smiled and spooned another drop of the gruel.

The girl's name was Mine. He had discovered this when he found her impaled by her arms to a rock at two that morning. He pretended to be surprised as he chipped away the ice in her arms, bandaged her wounds as best he could, gave her water from a canteen, then promised he'd be back with food. That's when she croaked her name.

"Mine... my name... you call me..."

Her words confused him at first, but he quickly grew wise to her name despite her fatigue.

From the start he knew Mine did not enjoy taking help from others. Her brows never lightened, the glowering expression underneath a mess of pink hair refusing to weaken. However, three broken limbs prevented any self-sufficiency.

In short, she was weak, and not even spirit could defeat weakness.

Half the gruel barrel was gone before she spoke that afternoon.

"...gun..."

He remembered the orange jets of light that shot across Mount Fake, and realized she must have been talking about her teigu.

" _..._ gun... _"_

The honest route would be to tell her the rifle was locked in the palace's armory.

"... _gun..."_

If he was to gain her trust, he would need to play as dumb as possible.

Tatsumi smiled as innocently as he could.

" _Run_? If you want me to _run_ somewhere, I need to know where I'm going, right?"

She gazed down to her knees, as if to say "forget it."

He wondered what they were going to do about her injuries. She had screamed and growled in pain when he took the spikes out of her arms, bandaged them when they bled, and he had rubbed ointment on her leg to numb the pain, but none of it would help long-term.

His mind skimmed over an internal list of the people he trusted.

Since their first patrol together, Wave and Tatsumi had something of a relationship; it had at least gotten far enough that they could nod at each other and grin when Wave had done something amusing.

" _But we're not that close..."_ Tatsumi realized.

After some thinking, a dark thought loomed across his head: he could not comfortably call any of the Jaegers his "friends." He played with the thought of going to Kurome, but felt the same awkward indecisiveness he had with Wave.

" _Go to Ieyasu."_

Ieyasu was his only real friend now; and that scared him. Tatsumi sensed that something changed; something that made the thought of asking Ieyasu to help a Night Raid member; an enemy, alien indeed.

" _Too much happened while we were separated"_ he told himself, hoping this was untrue.

But a memory came to his relief:

" _Ieyasu doesn't know jack about medicine."_

It made a perfect excuse to delay his meeting with Ieyasu, if not for a few more days.

Then his thoughts strayed to someone else, something like an elephant in the room.

 _Esdeath_.

He swallowed and gritted his teeth out of anger, or perhaps something else. If it weren't for that woman-

If it weren't for beautiful, _violent,_ caring, _crazy_ Esdeath...

...Mine could still walk.

Mine would be able to speak, move, eat by herself...

She wouldn't even _be_ here.

His boot smashed a dried tree stump in his frustration.

"What the _fuck_ am I gonna do with you..." he snapped to himself. "you... you-"

This wasn't the first time his feelings for Esdeath faced a dilemma, but this was the first that struggle had ever felt so _relevant._

His rough, thorn-pricked fingers curled around a rock.

"You _bitch!"_

The stone thumped against the cliff wall in front, rolling down amidst a newly-formed storm of dry dirt.

Mine's sharp coughing returned his mind to normalcy. Looking back at her, calm awashing his face, he took in her scowl, her toughened expression, and fiery anger in her eyes.

She reminded him so much of Sayo.

And knowing Sayo, he knew Mine's anger was not aimed at him, it was at herself; angry for not being able to help herself, for having to rely on aid from someone else. Sayo _hated_ having to rely on others, and Mine was definitely the same way.

...

Dr. Stylish had a list of things he detested; it was nailed to the front door of his lab, in bold red lettering. Underneath in small black words a note revealed the list was in no particular order.

Number one was immaturity- whiny kids and bratty adults left a bad taste in the mouth.

Number two was peanut butter- it made him sick.

Number three was theft- theft was the base of all crime; the root. For example, murder can be classified as theft of life; stealing from a comrade can be described as, well, theft.

Number four was squirrels- they are useless animals, eating everything and held little meat in their bones. If nothing else, they at least served a reminder that some creatures are meant to be killed.

Something in him jumped at the sight of the brown haired boy when he opened his lab door to a knock. It wasn't desire; his tastes were different from Esdeath's. Stylish's men tended to be more...robust; confident. Not to say the young man wasn't confident, but the boy's confidence wasn't the kind that only a lifetime of travel could give.

"You must be the famous Tatsumi!" he remarked, reaching out a hand. His mouth gaped at the firmness of the boy's grip.

"We were all wondering where you were" he continued, showing him in. The doctor's expression darkened.

"That note you left her... you were lying about that jog weren't you."

The boy quickly looked around the room, suppressed a yawn, than answered.

"I was, Doctor."

Stylish gave a grave sigh, watching Tatsumi gingerly sit on a bench as he shut the door.

"Don't do that" he scolded. "When you lie to someone, you steal their sense of trust in you."

An awkward silence followed, neither knowing what to say next.

Tatsumi opened his mouth, but Stylish beat him to it.

"Tea?"

"...sure."

The doctor excitedly strode toward the oven, tracing his finger across the large counter table in the middle of the lab. He sensed Tatsumi's cautious eyes bore into his back as he carefully poured water into two porcelain cups.

"Where are you from, Tatsumi?"

His gloved hands softly lifted the cups and he began to walk back.

"That's a good question" Tatsumi blankly stated.

Stylish stopped moving, his head tilted in confusion.

"You mean you don't know? I've heard you're a northerner, was Esdeath just lying to me?"

Tatsumi managed a quick laugh before answering.

"I am from up there. I just thought you wanted a specific village."

"Not from any villages..." muttered Stylish. "A nomad perhaps?"

He gestured to the boy.

"Definitely nomad. You're obviously not from here, are you; like Kurome."

"I am from a village; a minor one near Fisher" replied Tatsumi.

Stylish dramatically waved his arms in feigned annoyance.

"Why the bloody hell didn't you say so, then!"

The boy's face suddenly darkened.

"Lately...my origins have been...confused."

Another silence, which Stylish again broke.

"Well, I won't push it."

He handed Tatsumi his tea.

"Bottoms up" the doctor remarked.

Tatsumi furrowed his brows as he sipped.

"It's cold...you didn't boil the wat-"

"A good chill once in awhile soothes the nerves."

"This isn't tea, and it tastes like...salt?"

"Tatsumi, I have a confession to make..." Stylish sighed, pulling out a chair from the wall and sitting in front of him.

"...this..."

He jabbed a finger above Tatsumi's sternum.

"And _toi..."_

The same hand waved toward the boy.

"...have formed a rather great interest in me. And to fulfill that interest, well, I need to study you;"

He counted to three with his fingers.

"...hypothesis, experiment, conclusion."

Tatsumi began to sit up, but Stylish barked for him to stay down.

"So let's help each other!" the doctor exclaimed. " _You_ let me study _you_ , and _I_ do whatever the hell you came to ask of _me_ , okay?"

The boy was visibly angry.

" _And rightfully so"_ Stylish thought.

"I'm not playing anyone's fucking games" growled Tatsumi

Stylish sighed and closed his eyes, giving a closed smile in quiet frustration. He stood up, heading toward the door.

"Well, Esdeath's been looking for you, and since I've found that special someone I might as well-"

"Fuck!"

A loud bang sounded as he watched Tatsumi kick Stylish's chair, sending it crashing into the large table.

"Okay!" bellowed the boy. "I'll fucking do it!"

Stylish chuckled, raising an invisible tea cup to his mouth.

"Well then like I said before, _bottoms up_."

He smirked as Tatsumi grabbed the cup and gulped down the liquid.

"You've just drugged me, haven't you" stated Tatsumi.

"Just a little something to help you. Feel it yet?"

"...no...still, I can't believe you just outright _drugged_ me..."

"This'll intensify the effects for you."

Stylish quickly jammed a needle into the boy's leg, and pushed the plunger. Tatsumi's hands grabbed for the doctor's throat, before he fell to the floor.


	13. Don't Be Rash

Awaking in places with no recollection of how he got there seemed to have become the norm for Tatsumi.

While he was shocked that he seemed to be in a dark, cold room, the first thing he thought of was her;

 _Mine._

"No,no,no,no,no..." he muttered.

He needed help from Stylish, not to become his guinea pig. Tatsumi had really hoped the doctor would somehow agree to secretly heal Mine's injuries, despite the fact he never met the man before.

" _I had no one else to go to"_ Tatsumi reminded himself.

Dread set over his shoulders, his heart sinking.

" _Mine's gonna die"_ he reflected worriedly. " _...and I'm in the middle of nowhere."_

Tatsumi took a deep breath; back home he learned panic led to an early grave, and he wasn't going to forsake what the villagers taught him, not in a time like this.

He looked around, taking in the dim candlelight and the surroundings made visible, shadows dancing across the round rock walls; he was in a cave. A large candle in the center showed there was a note in front of him. Because of the scarcity of light, he squinted and read it repeatedly. Around the eighth read he realized what it said.

 _ **Good job! Excellent job! Tatsumi, I can say you give the best first impression out of any of my lab rats; the rest have either died from this drug or refused to make the deal. Of course, I knew Scar's Extract wouldn't let you die, but as they say, there's risk in everything. Anyway, you definitely deserve to know why you're in this cave. While I was out and about some weeks ago, I came across this plant; a plant that the locals claimed to help with sensory deprivation. I want to see how this plant affects one with a demon extract. Testing on myself revealed a dose ten times larger than what the locals recommended allowed extreme clarity in vision, and a**_ _ **terrible**_ _ **hangover.**_

Tatsumi took a moment to look at his hands; colors were abnormally vivid, and the creeks and crevices of his skin seemed to jut out to him as if they were under a microscope.

 _ **However, I'm not an icicle-shooting badass with tentacles, perhaps the same dose would suit you better than little old me. So, go nuts! You'll find me at the lake, sunbathing with some friends and (hopefully) Wave.**_

 _ **-Stylish**_

 _ **P.S. I took your sword, it's somewhere in my lab; you'll need it for getting to the lake.**_

Tatsumi wondered why he needed a sword just to get to the beach, but not used to being without it, he resolved to get it anyway.

His mind again strayed to Mine, but he quickly suppressed any regrets; he needed to find a way out of the cave, or else she was definitely going to die.

The candles lit the way for him, the path never dividing. The whole time he couldn't help but look at his surroundings, taking interest in even the smallest of pebbles. Frequently he would stop to study a spot on the wall, or the slow drop of wax from a candle. Even in the dim light, everything seemed so _magnified_. His vision seemed to zoom on the tiniest of objects and at the same time focus on everything around him. Spiders and insects squirmed in crevices that he would never have seen before and every bump in the cave rock did not go unnoticed. While he turned a rock over in his palm, his thoughts found something new to dwell on- Dr. Stylish, and how angry Tatsumi needed to be at him.

But to his surprise, not only did he feel unwilling to become angry, he also felt himself completely separated from his thoughts; as if he were standing on a bridge and watching his mind flow in the river below.

It wasn't long before the low echo of the cave dissipated to the dull roar of the surface's ambience. Crouching at the exit he scrutinized his new surroundings. Again, his new sense of observation had come into effect.

Below him rows of hazel-brown benches and white tile lay across the ground. The shrine ahead of him on the farthest wall and the building's grandiose structure showed that he was in a church. Luckily for him, the church seemed to be closed, as no one was inside. The tip of a ladder leaned against the entrance of the cave. Hoping it wouldn't fall, he carefully mounted it and slowly began his way down.

His eyes strayed to the bottom, and he realized it was a long drop from the cave. About fifty meters, he estimated. His eyes strayed further and his fears were confirmed; nothing was securing the ladder's bottom.

Suddenly every shake of the ladder was an earthquake.

Despite his new calmness survival instinct made him jerk, and the ladder was on its way down with Tatsumi. He yelled in surprise and wondered if he could catch his fall from this height.

The clatter of wood on tile erupted in his ears but he felt no pain. Weightlessness filled his middle momentarily and the breeze through his hair had stopped.

 _What-_

When he looked down he was able to see four long fluctuations in the air, and the church was suddenly cold despite the spring heat. They disappeared as suddenly as they came, and he was able to land properly; on his feet and hands.

He realized with dread that Scar had scored a small victory against him; after keeping quiet for so long the teigu was finally awakening again.

 _Dammit..._

As he moved to leave, his hand strayed to his chest. Esdeath had told him he'd die if Scar was removed from his body, but he often wondered if there was any way he could do so without it killing him.

He had seen Scar's mark on him only twice, when Esdeath showed him and in a reluctant glance in the mirror. Ever since then he had kept his eyes from it, careful to keep that star from penetrating his peripheral vision.

A gentle breeze caressed his face as he stepped out the church; thankfully it was locked from the inside. He would have enjoyed the breeze more if it didn't carry the must of old leather and sweat with it.

"-eyes, brown hair. Medium build. Usually has a sword on his back..."

Leisurely footfalls and a voice sounded from behind the church. Next to the doors was a bush, and he quickly hid behind it, resisting a groan as thorns pricked his arms.

Through the leaves he saw a group of soldiers stroll past, their black boots and caps revealing they were military police. He couldn't hear much, but it sounded like this team was checking every hotel and inn in the city for him.

" _They've got to be kidding"_ thought Tatsumi. " _I'm gone for a while, and Esdeath sends the_ _**military**_ _police after me?"_

He waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore before standing. The scent of leather had faded, but still remained in his nostrils.

A new scent fluttered into his senses; the acidic burn of alcohol. He peeked next to the church stairway and saw, at the end of the dirt road, a figure's ungainly stagger. At this Tatsumi realized the drug not only affected sight, but smell as well.

...

Sneaking into the Imperial Palace wasn't hard; all he had to do was hide until the scent of smoke and steel faded, then move to hide when the smell of guards appeared again. He repeated this process carefully, until he finally reached Stylish's lab. No one was inside, and he managed to find his short sword inside a locker on the wall. A crude doodle of an angry ice cream cone with tentacles was taped to the metal door.

A familiar sharp murmur sounded beyond the lab door, urging him to hide in the locker. He shut it with him inside, the sword strapped to his back banging against the back of the locker right as the lab door opened. The smallest of movement would have made noise; he couldn't stoop to look through the slits in the locker door.

He didn't have to smell her to know who she was.

Esdeath's scent was strange; it was nothing like he had smelled before, reminding him of cloth and flesh. It held warmth to it; a sensual energy that aroused the senses yet refused to replicate any superficially pleasant scents.

Tatsumi had been accustomed to her smell by the nights he spent with her, and the magnification by the drug had made him feel like he was in bed, her arms tightly around his middle and chin on his hair...

" _No"_ he thought. " _...no, I can't think like that about her, not after what she did to Mine..."_

Her presence felt heavier than normal, showing she was not in a good mood. Boots clacked on the tile floor, not stopping until she was in front of the locker.

All he could hear was the buzz of electricity and his own stifled breathing.

A bang, followed by a grip on his shirt, invaded his ears. His nose smashed into the door as he screamed. Immediately after his back slammed to the floor a weight smashed onto his waist with deliberate force. The pressure on the middle of his shirt released before he let out a dry sneeze, Esdeath's hand sending the locker door skidding over the lab table.

They stared at each other for some moments, her eyes unsmiling gazing down and his on hers with defiance. Against his will, his mind thought about how he loved those sharp blues, and the way their pupils grew and shrink in the lab light.

Esdeath spoke first.

"One of these days I'm going to take you, like it or not."

Breaking her gaze for a moment, she picked a scalpel from the lab table, then her eyes were back to his.

"...I'll have you on the ground, like this; all doors and windows will be frozen shut..."

She slowly traced the blade down his shirt.

"You'll say you love me, then I'll say the same. I'm still unsure if I'll ravage you for our first time or if I'll do it slowly, like a feather..."

"I love you Esdeath."

Her eyes widened, clearly taken aback.

"I love you and I didn't mean to go missing for so long..."

He needed her off of him, quick.

"...but there's something I need to do. It's for Stylish."

The scalpel had reached his belt buckle

"Stylish needs me for his research" finished Tatsumi.

Tatsumi cursed inside as her head tilted in contemplation; not knowing what she was thinking was a nuisance at times like this.

A giggle arose in his ears.

"So you met Stylish!" she exclaimed, still laughing. "I know he can be a bit persuasive sometimes..."

He wanted to get angry, to hurt her for what she did to Mine, but his rationality took over. Even as she gripped his neck and leaned in he refused to let all his efforts go to waste.

Esdeath chuckled as Tatsumi returned the kiss, and then got off of him.

"I'll be sure to tell Stylish not to keep you for so long next time; I'm sure it gets very uncomfortable around him, injecting whatever he wants into you..."

"I'm fine" he answered blankly, standing up.

"Be back soon" she sang. "...I want you to be there when I share the good news."

"Yes."

"Now go."

"Yes."

He sighed deeply when the heavy click of the door finally sounded behind him; being around Esdeath had suddenly made him feel guilty, as if he was performing a great betrayal.

" _I'm not betraying her"_ he told himself. _"...just doing what's right, that's all."_

...

"Call off the search; orders from the top..."

An imperial messenger proclaimed all search units were being sent back to the palace, getting a black-leather search party out of Tatsumi's way. He found a tattered cloak in an alley, and thanks to that he hadn't been stopped on his way to Lake West.

The breeze carried a fruity smell, before the stench of dung suddenly hung over his nostrils. Wave had dragged him on a fishing trip with him once at Lake West; Tatsumi remembered how to get there. He remembered the dense forest that surrounded the lake, and not trusting Stylish, he wondered if there were any booby-traps set along the path to test how well Tatsumi could see them.

A line of hemp across the shadowy path confirmed his suspicions, and he easily stepped over it.

He could begin to see the water through the dark leaves; he was getting close. He wondered why he needed to bring his sword when the warmth of graham soothed his nostrils; someone was nearby, and waiting. The smell's depth was narrowed, and suddenly he became very wary of the path's left side.

Minuscule patches of red seeped through dark bush, and Tatsumi drew his sword, a playful grin on his face. If his assailant was who he thought she was, his gladius would give him an advantage.

Kurome darted toward him, their blades clashing.

His grin faltered; instead of the usual katana she held a short blade of her own; a tanto, meaning she was just as suited to close-quarters combat as he was.

With the flat of her dagger she blocked his right swing before upper cutting with her left fist. Tatsumi saw it coming and weaved his upper body out of the way, her blade leaving his. Gladius in his right, he chopped to her left, hoping to make her retreat with the threat of a cut to the neck. However the clatter of their blades sounded again, and Kurome set him on the defensive with her own attacks.

It wasn't long before Tatsumi's footing began to fall back, and he cursed inside.

His eyes glanced to the side; there was a thick branch lying beside him. If he could just get an opening in her attacks so he could reach it.. _._

 _Yes!_

With the branch in his left, he smashed toward her head, only for her to block it. Grinning, the flat of his blade swept into her side; he won.

However, Kurome only met his grin with one of her own.

There was no time to react when her foot pushed him into the trap behind him, the one he had stepped over before.

Tatsumi wondered how stupid he must have looked; hanging upside down in front of his opponent, his dirty cloak fluttering to the ground.

Suddenly his eyes watered; something powdery was in his eyes. To make things worse, he thought Kurome was smirking at him.

"What the _hell_ was that?" he snapped, rubbing his eyes.

"My ultimate, super-secret trump card..."

she stalked closer to him, before leaning in, knuckles on her hips and face still.

"...cookie crumb attack."

"Well for god sakes, cut him down K-girl!"

Her face blank, she slashed the rope, Tatsumi grunting from the impact on his back.

"Tatsumi, that was quite the show."

His eyes still wet, he looked to see Stylish stooped above him, his hand out.

"Well come on" Stylish prodded; "take my hand."

"I don't like what you're doing, Stylish" grunted Tatsumi, taking his hand and standing. "We better be done with this."

Stylish's face was suddenly in his, intentionally emotionless.

"I appreciate your honesty Tatsumi..."

Tatsumi jerked back and Stylish paced back with a smile.

"You've done a good job Mr. Demon; you managed to get here despite everything and everyone I put in your way-"

A gloved finger gestured toward the rope.

"-except, you know, that thing..."

Tatsumi's mind had slowly become less controlled since he entered the woods; he was beginning to get impatient.

"...twenty pedals and a booster seems to have done the trick, but there's only one way to know for sure; are you feeling okay Tatsumi?"

"Yes."

"No...nausea I presume?"

" _Yes_."

"So you're fine."

"Yes, I'm _fucking_ okay."

The doctor held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I see..."

He knocked on his own head as if it were a door.

"You've got a hard head; twenty petals and you still need a booster; and no hangover! Wow."

Stylish nodded to Kurome, who sheathed her blade and moved back toward the Capitol.

"Now...let's get one thing straight, I mean no ill will" started Stylish. "I drugged you with force because I know from experience asking for permission never works. But I need research, and you need favors; fair trade. And as a bonus, if the experiment's a success..."

He raised his arms to the air, looking up to the branches above.

"I give you some when you ask, gratis!"

Stylish's demeanor reminded Tatsumi of the preachers who stood in the Capitol's streets, their voices fluctuating so often like a singer's.

Stylish's hands clasped together, his voice a hushed tone.

"Those eyes have been begging to ask something for a long time, what is it?"

"There's a young woman, and she needs help."

"The general has definitely needed help for a long time."

"No- I mean someone else. There's a girl at Mount Fake; she's terribly injured and starving."

Tatsumi emphasized the urgency in his voice.

"I need you to heal her."

"Absolutely not."

"Wha-"

"There are plenty of normal doctors that can do that, why-"

"She's an _enemy_."

Tatsumi cursed inside; he expected Stylish to slap him at those words. But instead, the doctor only smirked.

"Oh? Interesting... still, you can easily find someone else to do the job, and they'd be none the wiser."

Tatsumi knew he shouldn't say it, but he spoke before he could think.

"She's Night Raid, people would know who she is on the spot."

Stylish's eyebrows lifted, but his smirk returned again.

"Describe her for me."

"Angry face, pink hair-"

"No one would have known her, Tatsumi" Stylish sighed. "We don't know what _every_ member looks like; as is usually the case, the younger mind has thought things through too quickly."

Tatsumi's face went pale, he wondered if it was too late.

"Please..." he rasped. "please, don't tell her; don't tell Esde-"

A gloved finger silenced him.

"It's my duty to kill Night Raid members whenever I have the chance. But in my eyes, a greater duty lies elsewhere..."

He watched with amusement as Tatsumi's face grew from frightened to confused.

"I believe advancing humankind in any way possible is more important than whatever you or Esdeath tell me. So..."

He waved his hands and shrugged.

"...if you help me with that pursuit, I promise I'll overlook the...nuances."

Tatsumi couldn't help but smile; he almost wanted to kiss the man.

"...but if at any time you stop, I'll squeal."

"Yes, yes! I'll do anything!"

The doctor grinned.

"I know."

...

He felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders and into a fire, so that it would never bother him again.

"Mine!" he called. "Mine, I have good news!"

Tatsumi moved around a boulder and froze.

Other than a few dried bloodstains and pieces of tattered cloth, Mine was gone.


	14. Another Collaboration

"You gave me a scare; both of you."

Wave sat on his knees next to Mine, Tatsumi shivering in relief in front of him.

"I'm not mad, but _oh my god_ ; I thought Esdeath had come back for her" Tatsumi finished.

He found he wasn't the only Jaeger to remember Mine. After some explaining from Wave, Tatsumi realized the girl had been aching in Wave's mind ever since that battle.

"I've never agreed with the General's tactics, but what can I say?" Wave had confided; "I'm not much better than she is."

Regardless, Wave took pity on Mine and, while Tatsumi experimented with Stylish, brought her to the closest shelter he could— an abandoned logging cabin at the edge of the mountain.

"There's plenty of trees here, no one from the Capitol will notice if a fire was lit for her" explained Wave.

The cabin's roof collapsed long ago, but Wave had already cleared much of the debris. Vegetation and soil ate up the floor, but Tatsumi helped Wave cut away the thorns and poison ivy.

Mine seemed afraid to look them in the eye; her scowl never faded, but a slight uneasiness had appeared in her movements.

"There's only the question of her health" said Wave. "Neither of us seem to know our way around a broken body like hers."

"Stylish'll help us."

Wave spooned another bite of stolen gruel to Mine, before looking up.

"What?"

"The doctor; Doctor Stylish. Somehow I got him to agree to help Mine."

Wave's brows furrowed.

"I've never trusted that man..."

"I've learned something, Wave" started Tatsumi. "The doctor will do anything for something interesting. Think about it, wouldn't healing an enemy undercover be fun for him?"

Tatsumi explained his deal with Stylish. Wave listened and bit his lip for some moments, thinking. After rubbing a gnat out of his eye, he nodded his head.

"You're right, we can't trust him completely, but he's our best shot. Plus, he's doing this for free, right?"

"As long as I stay his guinea pig for a while, he'll help us."

The two of them made plans to replace the fallen roof with a tarp. A fire could be lit, but without them she couldn't take care of it. However, Winter wouldn't come for another few months, and by then she would be healed.

...

Now that he remembered, Esdeath _did_ mention something about "good news."

An imperial convoy was to leave the Capital within a week holding weaponry, including a few teigus.

"...and we will be escorting it to it's destination, the fabled City of Pain" Esdeath had briefed.

A few nervous glances were exchanged around the room, rebel forces currently held the city under siege. To make things worse, it was far North, where it was always Winter. However, something else was on Tatsumi's mind.

" _What the hell is that gonna mean for Mine?"_

He tried to silently relay this to Wave from across the table, but his gaze was focused solely on the General.

"This may seem menial for the Jaegers, but let's face it" Esdeath placed her hands on the table, standing; "a few teigus for the taking at once? I'm sure Night Raid will bite at this."

Her eyes briefly met Tatsumi's before he quickly took interest in his fork.

"That's all for now."

Stylish haphazardly raised his hand.

"Question Esdessie."

"Hmm?"

"I'm sure that sniper you captured could tell us if they're targeting the convoy."

"A shame... I went to interrogate her this morning; the _ghouls_ got her first. Something scavenged her away, I wish I'd expected that before..."

Tatsumi's toes clenched; if she was at Mount Fake that morning, she may have seen the gruel barrel he stole.

Wave didn't meet his eyes, but Tatsumi knew he was thinking the same thing; the way Wave bit his lip when worried betrayed a lot.

Stylish fingered his fork, twirling the pasta and smirking in content. Daidara ate hungrily, River glancing from him to Esdeath in disgust. Tatsumi heard his name called, but he was so worried it didn't register. His mind began to stray to how much he needed to _hate_ Esdeath, that _she_ was the cause of this whole mess.

" _But she's so beautiful-"_

Kurome's hand flicked his hand and he was back in the real world.

"Yes, Esdeath?" he answered, his eyes slowly meeting hers.

"Come to the armory after dinner, there's something I want to show you."

Stylish winked at him, and Tatsumi realized he had been tricked. His head nodded and he stood up.

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Well then go."

Teeth gritted, he strode out the door past a maid, who glanced at him curiously. Stylish was going to pay, he promised himself. That bitch was going to pay for being a rat.

...

The door opened and Stylish smiled; the boy was going to love this.

"You took a while..." observed Esdeath, blushing; "were you...? Never mind..."

He opened a drawer and lifted something out of it, it's cold steel emanating through his gloves. It seemed smothered in honey in the armory's golden electricity.

"Tatsumi, stand here a moment."

Something about the slowness of the boy's footfalls behind put him on guard.

"Now, put your hands out."

"No."

"Fine, since you don't trust me I'll give it to your lady first."

He smirked as the boy's eyes widened, the mouth an o; his face reminded Stylish of one being found innocent on the chopping block.

"New tech's always fun" the doctor stated. "I know you'll like it; had quite a blast making this."

"I-I didn't know..." Tatsumi stammered.

"Didn't know what, baby?" questioned Esdeath, the weapon hanging from her raised hand.

"-nothing."

Esdeath had given the doctor an interesting task soon after he arrived; to make Tatsumi a weapon that would help him acclimate to his teigu.

"Training wheels" she had called it.

Firearm technology had always been tricky during the last ten years, but Stylish thought they would fit the boy's needs very well. A pistol can be used at a good distance; not too far to be cowardly, but not too close to an enemy blade. The pistol was like Goldilocks: just right.

"I had Stylish make some nice tools for the job" she held it toward him. "It's for you."

The boy took it cautiously; he had obviously never handled something so high-tech before. He carried it like Esdeath did, letting it dangle between his thumb and finger.

"What the hell _is_ this?" he asked.

At this Stylish chuckled, watching Esdeath's mouth crescent into an uncharacteristic grin.

"You're so _cute_ Tatsu-bunny!"

Tatsumi struggled against her embrace, dropping the pistol to the floor.

"Sorry- agh! Get off me!"

Stylish picked it up and handed it back, holding it by the barrel.

"Oh no, I didn't break it did I?"

Tatsumi's concern amused him, he found it hard to believe this boy was a killer.

"He's strong when he feels like it" Esdeath had told him before.

As Tatsumi reached toward it, Esdeath still holding his other arm, Stylish held it back.

"On second thought, I need to show you how to use the damn thing."

Esdeath gave him a secretive glance.

"Tatsumi, all guns shoot projectiles. Most you'll see around here shoot...what exactly?"

"...bad guys?"

Esdeath flicked the boy's cheek, chuckling.

"What comes out the gun, Tatsumi?"

"...bullets."

"Exactly. But bullets take time to make, and you've gotta carry them around. Simplest answer is always the best; your gun will shoot no bullets."

Tatsumi's puzzled expression and the realization of how absurd he sounded made Stylish burst out laughing.

"No bullets-" a slight chuckle. "No bullets, you're shooting out ice."

Tatsumi's expression darkened.

"Where's the ice coming from-" he started.

"Just getting to that. You'll hold the magazine-"

The doctor's thumb pressed a button behind the trigger, which released a thin box from the handle.

"...like this."

He held the box in front of him with his other hand.

"You'll do your thing and make ice form inside the magazine ( _ding!)_. Slide the clip in-like so, then you're ready to shoot. Hopefully the gunpowder won't shatter the ice; but I think Scar can withstand a little _boom_ , know what I mean?"

Stylish realized why Esdeath had acted so lovingly earlier- if she wasn't holding Tatsumi's arm, the boy would easily walk away.

"You're using the teigu" Esdeath whispered in his ear, giving a lick. " _Like it or not_."

"Hm."

"Here's a magazine."

Stylish tossed a clip to Tatsumi, who managed to catch it despite being off guard.

"Keep it. Practice forming ice in it whenever you get the chance."

One of the first exercises Esdeath did with her teigu was forming ice in containers; he was sure Tatsumi could do it.

Tatsumi gripped the magazine, its steel pressing against his finger bones. Stylish and Esdeath braced themselves; now was the pinnacle moment.

"Fine."

Tatsumi pocketed the clip.

"I will..."

Both their eyes widened; when it came to the teigu Tatsumi usually put up more of a fight.

"...but on one condition."

Esdeath rolled her eyes but Stylish smiled.

"And what is that?"

"Esdeath needs to respect my wish."

Tatsumi looked at her, watching her face glower down on him.

"Why, you..."

Her eyes never left his, Stylish almost thought she was silently threatening him, as if to say "you'll regret this." But then her head cocked back, laughing.

"Yes, Tatsu-bunny" she answered, tracing a finger down his middle. "...but you better start killing things."

Tatsumi gave a grin that shocked Stylish.

"I might do so."

The doctor couldn't help but chuckle, perhaps the boy's naivety was temporary.

" _I can understand now why she likes him so much"_ he thought. " _Seeing him grow into something more would be a satisfying journey indeed."_

"There's some more planning to do" stated Esdeath; "I'll take my leave now."

"Yes, yes understood" Stylish replied.

They watched Esdeath climb the stairs toward the palace, the air suddenly becoming less tense and more secretive.

To Stylish's surprise, Tatsumi spoke first.

"We have Mine in a cabin at the edge of Mount Fake."

"...and I told Wave to bring her here; she's in my lab."

" _What?_ Esdeath'll see her! Why didn't you tell me?"

Stylish counted with two fingers.

"One, Wave's smarter, two, he's not taken."

"They'll find Mine if she's in-!"

"Shhhh!"

Nothing but the buzz of electricity followed. Tatsumi began again in a quieter tone.

"They'll find Mine here."

"They won't. My lab contains rooms restricted even to Esdeath. Most of them contain some...unsavory things, but I have the gal in an empty room, with a water faucet and a nice bath. I'll show it to you sometime, you'd like it."

The boy seemed relieved; Tatsumi's apparent sense of justice was almost refreshing for Stylish. Naive he may be, but he definitely had something to him.

"How is she?"

"She's fast asleep. All limbs are in casts or bandages and none of my assistants know about her. Arms are easy, so she should be feeding herself soon."

Tatsumi sighed.

"So...why a gun?"

"Blades are ubiquitous. Guns are not. Blades are boring. Guns are fun."

Tatsumi couldn't help but chuckle.

"Every Jaeger (besides Seyru) so far has used mainly swords" Stylish began. "Swords are nice and have majesty to them, but they're _cliche._ Plus, a ranged weapon is always nice among a cohort of swords and daggers; I have seen this proven during my travels among southern tribes. Seyru uses her firearms to _fantastic_ effect, so seeing you do so too with an infinite amount of ammo would be wonderful."

Tatsumi's face was unreadable, and this bothered Stylish.

"Is there something wrong my boy?"

"No, nothing. I admit that forcing me to use Scar is a bit troublesome, but..."

Tatsumi put his hand over his breast.

"...somewhere down the line I realized it's wrong to refuse the resources given to you; to do so is acting like a spoiled brat."

Stylish silently told Esdeath her boyfriend was growing. However, something about the boy's words troubled him;he needed to know more.

"Tatsumi...why were you so afraid of Scar in the first place? I know such a transformation is sudden, but...I want to hear the answer from you."

Tatsumi thought a bit, placing a hand on a wooden pillar.

"There's a demon inside me, doctor. That's some scary stuff. But I realized I'm not the only one, doc. And Wave said something too...that I can use this demon for good; to protect people..."

He drew invisible shapes onto the wood, his finger creeping up and down like a forgetful beetle.

"It's naive, I know" he continued; "but I'd like to give that a try."

A gloved hand placed itself on Tatsumi's shoulder.

"Tatsumi" Stylish said. "Don't _ever_ lose that sense of justice. It's more valuable than you may think."

Tatsumi's eyes widened, and his shoulder may have tensed.

"Esdeath is a good woman, and I'm sure she treats you...relatively well. But when she first told me she wanted love, I was _deathly_ afraid her sadism would run off on whatever poor soul she set her fancy to."

Tatsumi nodded determinedly.

"It won't."


	15. Moonlight

Moonlight showering on snow was Esdeath's favorite sight. It surrounded the group on their way, the wagon shaking with every stone the wheels bumped over. Her legs uncrossed and she gazed out the window, playing with the idea of stopping for the night.

"Tatsumi, what time is it?"

Her subordinate checked Wave's watch.

"6:30."

"Thank you."

She glanced to him and back out the window, wondering if he would take the initiative and speak to her. When it was obvious her wait would be in vain, she made her move.

"Is something on your mind Tatsu-bunny?"

"No."

"You can tell me anything."

"...I know."

The way the moonlight bounced from his clenched cheeks aroused her.

"You know..."

Her hand traced patterns on his thigh.

"...we haven't done anything fun in a while..."

She smirked as his lips parted slightly; whatever barrier he was holding was beginning to crumble.

"Wave is right next to me" stated Tatsumi.

"Wave is asleep."

His head cocked to the side, weighing out the risk and reward. Leaning forward he placed his head on her lap.

"You'll have to make do with this" he said, staring straight ahead.

"Fine..."

Her lips chewed his ear.

"...just don't be surprised if you wake up in the middle of the night to me _sucking your dick_."

She had won this one; his breathing got heavier and his legs crossed.

An especially large rocking woke up Wave; the image of a humongous green moon in his head told him he'd been dreaming. Groaning, stretching his neck and limbs he watched shadows dance across the figures in front of him as the wagon entered a forest.

Something about Tatsumi's face on Esdeath's lap irked him.

" _What stupid little reason is he using to convince himself to keep loving her?"_ he asked silently.

As if she heard him, Esdeath looked at him.

"How do you sleep so well in a wagon?" she asked smiling.

He couldn't stop studying the moonlight dancing on the curvature of her neck.

"...runs in the family I guess" he replied.

The General made a sound in acknowledgement, but it was obvious she was beginning to think of something else.

...

"...we should talk more."

Koro strolled across the snow, head and tail bobbing with every step.

"But we do" replied Tatsumi.

"No-yes, we do" Seyru continued. "But I want us to talk more like, well, comrades."

Tatsumi pretended to study a tree and rolled his eyes. He found Seyru awkward to be around.

"That kind of thing takes time, Seyru."

"I-I know..."

Koro stopped sniffing a tree and stared back at them, waiting.

"...I get told that a lot..."

Tatsumi followed her towards the dog, waiting for her to finish.

"...I really hate that though...why can't, you know, why can't we just talk like real friends right off the bat? Cut straight to the chase, I mean."

Koro stooped to crawl under a log, paused to sniff a dead bush, then crawled and waited at the other side.

" _I have to get to know you first before anything"_ Tatsumi answered in his head.

They vaulted over the log before brushing the snow from their hands.

"So, uh, how are you and Esdeath?" she asked.

"She's fine."

"I wanna be like her, you know. I admire the General so much."

Tatsumi just stared at her, taking this as a warning sign.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

Despite the trees the moon made everything visible, the pair was able to avoid every thorn, step over every branch, and leap every log in the way.

"What do you like about the General, Tatsumi?"

He stared at Koro, thinking. What _did_ he like about her? He had thought about this before, but among the dark, dead trees and bright moon-dipped snow he finally found an answer.

She was to be his conquest.

To find an end to her extreme sadism, to change the more negative parts of her personality, would be a rewarding endeavor indeed. He needed to do so fast, before more Mines happened.

"She's very beautiful..." he said, completely honest. "Slightly controlling, but I can't say I hate that."

Seyru giggled.

"Oh..." she started, still chuckling; "you're one of _those_ people, are you?"

As weird she was, Tatsumi didn't want her having the wrong impression of him.

"N-no! It's just...refreshing to not have to take the initiative all the time!"

"So you've been with someone else before?"

"N-no..."

Seyru didn't seem awkward anymore, she suddenly reminded him of Esdeath when she was on one of her teasing rampages.

"Don't be embarrassed; it's fine to be single for a long time. It's more fun."

Koro froze, hair on end and tail raised. Both of them were silent, and Tatsumi spotted a white form bouncing away, snapping some twigs and crunching snow. Seyru cocked her crossbow and chased after it, joining Koro.

"I think that's it!" she whooped.

It wasn't long before he caught up to them, Koro's teeth embedded in the deer's neck and an arrow in its head.

"Nice shot!" he praised, genuinely amazed.

He looked back at Koro and shivered; the way the dog's mouth enlarged around prey creeped him out.

"Thanks!" she replied, lifting the deer over her shoulders. "Carry the bow, will ya?"

...

Compared to the camp Tatsumi shared with Esdeath their first night together, this one was humble. All of the tents were normal; nothing was made of ice, and there was no huge dragon. As the imperial soldiers sat around the campfire, Tatsumi realized that maybe the first camp was made to simply impress any new recruits made in Fisher Village.

"Ever had venison?" he heard someone ask.

"No...But it smells _really_ good."

Seyru was at the bonfire, and cut into the meat hanging above the fire.

"It's not ready" she warned.

Wave and Tatsumi sat on the other side of the road in front of the camp at their guard post. Ahead were a large plain, moonlight and snow stretching across their vision. The only thing to interrupt the milky landscape was the dark walls of the abandoned Rook Castle. Above, stars twinkled anywhere the moon couldn't reach. Behind them lay the forest and camp.

"There's a reason I love my job I haven't told you about" Wave stated.

Tatsumi looked at him, waiting. Wave saw this and stretched out his arms as if to let the moon know that snow wasn't the only thing lying below.

"'Cus you get to see stuff like _this!_ Any other job in the Empire is shit, know why? Because they all stick you in either a soggy tropical wasteland or a desk creaking under the weight of papers. With a force like ours, we can stay relatively close to home, but still go outside and see parts of the land that no one else sees!"

Tatsumi grinned and applauded.

"You should be a recruiter; Esdeath isn't exactly a good one."

"I'm not surprised; she scares the living hell out everybody, and anyone that isn't scared wants to get whipped by her."

Tatsumi thought back to the piles of mail Esdeath would get, some of it letters from secret masochistic admirers.

Tatsumi sighed, watching his breath rise toward the sky as it faded.

"There's something I want to show you" he proclaimed.

Wave's eyes widened as the moonlight glimmered off the metal in Tatsumi's right hand. He grinned.

"I remember...you got some secret weapon."

"Not really secret...but I want to show you."

"You've never shot it before?"

"Nope. Only been told how."

"Ever fired a real gun?"

"Never even seen one before this."

"Show me what they taught you."

Tatsumi could feel Wave's eager gaze as he held up a magazine. He held the open end toward Wave, making a ding noise.

"Now that I have ice in it..."

He slid it inside the grip, a brisk _click_ snapping through their ears. He pulled than pushed the slide that made up the top, doing this cut a small piece of ice from the clip and chambered it.

"...when I pull the trigger, it's supposed to activate some gunpowder in a separate chamber in the back to shoot the ice. The chamber holds enough powder to last about two mags before it needs a refill."

Tatsumi was startled by Wave's energy; but he realized all the gun talk may have brought him back to the better parts of his navy days.

"How many shots can you shoot before you need to make more ice?" asked Wave.

"Don't know yet."

"What? You gotta know that before we get ambushed! Find that out right now!"

"Can't."

Tatsumi released the mag and pocketed it.

"Apparently this thing makes noise; I won't fire yet. I don't want to bring any attention to camp."

"Tatsumi! Wave, too!" called a voice.

They turned to see Seyru moving toward them, carrying two wooden stakes of meat.

"Have some dinner. Eat fast if you want seconds."

They smiled and thanked her.

...

"So running around with Seyru wasn't enough?" teased Esdeath, though her tone hinted at disappointment.

"I want to hang out with Wave a bit. You know, guy time."

"No."

"Why not? It's not like I'd run from you."

He breathed in and added; "I like you too much."

That did it. As much as she wanted his warmth beside her, she realized Tatsumi needed some distance before letting her do what she said she planned for tonight.

" _Still so bashful"_ she observed, smiling.

She hung her cap on a bedpost made of ice.

"What am I, your mother? Go ahead if you want."

"I'm sorry...I'll make it up to you."

"Whatever."

After watching him strap the tent shut and leave she unbuttoned her uniform. Draping it on the bed she lay down and opened a box next to her, sighing. Her hands clasped the golden artifact.

"I don't think we'll get interrupted here" Wave said.

Tatsumi agreed; they were at least a ten minutes walk through the forest, and with so many trees it was impossible they'd be heard. Nearby was a frozen lake, the ice pock-marked with dark and light shades. No trees grew near the water, allowing plenty of room to practice shooting. They both stuck large sticks and branches in the ground as targets: on some of them Wave had carved a smiley face.

"Operation is a go" proclaimed Tatsumi.

The magazine went in with an authoritative click and he pulled the trigger. He pulled it again and again as his thrill increased.

"Stylish was right" claimed Tatsumi; "...new tech _is_ fun."

The way the slide moved back after every shot amazed Wave; he had never seen anything like it.

"I've got mixed feelings about that guy, but he's _definitely_ a genius!" Wave praised.

What surprised them the most was the sound of it; while it was definitely loud, it sounded nothing like the firearms Wave was accustomed to. The combination of the clack of metal, the small amount of gunpowder, and the cutting of ice let out a noise Wave likened to a heavy, hollowed-out stapler. Adding to his excitement was the barrel; this one was rectangular. Tatsumi laughed, noticing Wave's stunned expression.

"It's only temporary, you know. Once I'm done with this and feel ready to use my teigu for real I'll be able to get rid of it."

He looked at Wave.

"When that happens, you wanna keep it?"

"Sure!"

"Good. I'm not so sure if guns are my thing, anyway. Still, it's very fun to use."

Wave ran to the targets and laughed.

"What?"

"You didn't hit _anything_!" he snickered. "Guess you can't aim for crap!"

"Shut up!"

Her alertness told her she hadn't been asleep for long; and a thin shadow was outside the entry flap.

"Come in Kurome."

The swordswoman stepped in, holding her katana by the sheath.

"Tatsumi and Wave seem to have left, Captain."

"It's okay" replied Esdeath, sitting up. "I gave them permission, but thank you for telling me."

"I haven't seen them for hours."

Esdeath stared at Kurome, mind racing.

"What?" Kurome asked.

"-it's nothing. Ready up, I want someone fast to come with me. Tell Bols he's in charge than wait for me behind this tent."

"I will, Captain."

...

He wondered why Stylish never gave him any real training with the weapon; perhaps guns were so common in the military that the doctor thought it was common knowledge. However, he'd been traveling with a small group of soldiers and they all had either swords or crossbows. The only person in the convoy other than him with a gun was Seyru.

Tatsumi had just unloaded another mag into the direction of the logs but only two shots hit, making distinct _think_ noises as the ice jammed into the wood. He pulled the slide back and released the clip into his right hand, imagining it full of ice. He put it back in and pushed the slide forward, giving it a good shove so the blade inside could cut and chamber the ice.

"You're lining up the aperture and front sight, right?" questioned Wave.

"Yeah."

"You'll get better."

"I _know_."

This time almost all thirty rounds hit their mark, causing the branch to splinter and collapse.

"Whoa!" Wave whooped. "Told you so!"

Tatsumi shared in his excitement, but found a sickening thought arise in the corner of his mind. He was supposed to take this thing that destroyed a log and point it at somebody? Than _shoot?_ He could imagine the damage this could do, and the guilt that would come with it.

"Wave..."

"What?"

"The guilt after killing somebody...how do you deal with that?"

Wave didn't say anything for some moments, staring blankly at the lake.

"How did you do it before?" he finally said.

"I-I don't know."

Tatsumi pulled back the slide, released the mag, and fished around for any ice left.

"No, wait" he corrected; "no, I told myself it was okay, that he was trying to kill me and I was just doing my job."

"Exactly."

A hand planted onto Tatsumi's shoulder.

"That's what everyone does" explained Wave. "Besides, with a gun you'll give 'em a cleaner death than last time."

Tatsumi twisted open a small porthole behind the handle and poured some gunpowder from a leather pouch.

"You're very right."

He looked at Wave.

"I promise you, and all the Jaegers; everybody. I promise all of you that when any of your lives are threatened, I won't let any hesitation get in the way."

Wave nodded, taking his hand off the shoulder.

"Good."

A shape darted from the tree line, toward them.

"Wave look-"

Warmth splashed on his chin and neck, and the blade protruding from Wave's chest retracted.

 _Shplock_

Suddenly he couldn't see Wave's face anymore, and something dropped behind the body.

As what was left fell out of the way, Tatsumi instinctively held up his hand, the clash of metal reverberating throughout his arm. The only thing keeping the blade from cutting his hand was the gun's curved trigger guard.

The assailant back flipped from his kick and charged again; there was no ammo in the gun so he dropped it and drew his short blade.

The swordsperson had skill; the shape's movements were calculated and purposeful, and every down strike was filled with killing intent. The chop-centered motions of the enemy sword reminded him of the way Esdeath sparred with him. Every second reminded him to get on the offensive; quickly. He was losing ground and the frozen lake was close behind, where he would surely lose his footing. However, the enemy's attacks were relentless and unstoppable.

" _There's no opening!"_ his mind screamed.

Briefly he wondered if Scar would save him from a cut again, before the lack of friction told him he had made it to the lake.

His stance grew wider and he concentrated not to fall.

An especially forceful cut toward his neck knocked him down, making him slip. When he was on his back and thinking death was upon him he noticed the enemy was on its stomach; they had fallen too.

He reached for his sword, ignoring the cracking below him. He got to his feet but the ice caved in, and water forced up his nose.

The water wasn't as cold as he thought it would be.

When he realized that was because of Scar, he could've laughed. But he was underwater and the dark shape above was peering into the hole and Wave had lost his head.

There was nothing Tatsumi could do but wait. He swam downward to keep from floating up, and watched the shape stab into surrounding ice, probably because it thought it saw his body floating. When the ice began to crack, it realized this was a bad idea and retreated. Despite the moonlight the water was dark; he couldn't see how far the enemy had gone. However, his whole body was shaking so he quickly surfaced and exhaled. He quickly climbed up where the ice was thick and scrambled toward the trees, where the gun was. Breathing was difficult; he wondered how apish he must have sounded grunting and moving so loudly. Not that he cared about stealth anymore; he just wanted that bitch dead. If the person that killed Wave was dead, he could die happy.

Keeping the corpse far to the left, he grabbed the gun and readied it. He forgot to push the slide but that didn't matter; when he pointed it towards the lake the shadow was gone.

No one was there to die and make him feel like this trip into the woods wasn't for nothing.

The gun fell to the ground; snow getting into it didn't matter. On his feet and whipping his head around like a mad man he bellowed for the shape.

"Where the _fuck_ are you! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!"

He collapsed to his knees and let out a scream that made an owl fly away.

...

Tatsumi wished Wave's body was whole, if it was he would be able to carry it back. There was too much horror to having the head, the body, or both at the same time.

He had no idea how long he lay in the snow, hating himself and his weakness. It was while the wind blew snow down from the trees that a realization formed in him: that no matter where one came from, no matter who one was, all their suffering came from weakness. Wave died because of the weakness of being unaware, the boy Tatsumi killed suffered from the weakness of being unprepared, and Tatsumi's tears steamed in the snow because of his weakness of inexperience.

" _Or is it just general, all-round weakness when it comes to me?"_ he thought.

It didn't matter, anyway. If it was his inexperience that bothered him, than he would just have to act more experienced, and experienced soldiers don't lose their shit when comrades died.

He stood up; shaking as much snow he could from the gun and holstering it. Wave's body would stay where it was; bodies don't mean a thing to the strong.

" _No, there's one thing-"_

He turned and stared at the corpse, a black river still running from the stump. His eyes swallowed the sight, so he would never forget it. Then he squatted down and removed the boots and dagger.

" _We'll need these."_

As he stalked back to camp, he realized Grand Chariot wasn't on Wave's body. This meant the assailant took his teigu, which also meant they were Night Raid.

To his surprise, Esdeath wasn't in the tent. Everyone seemed to be asleep, so where was she?

Outside the tent flap he ran into Kurome.

"T-Tatsumi! General, he's here!"

Something swelled in him when he saw her, that beautiful thing that made his heart ache even when he didn't want it to. Esdeath strode toward him and slapped him. Grabbing his collar, she kissed him.

"Why is there blood on your face" she asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Wave's gone. Night Raid killed him."

"How many were there."

"Esdeath...I love you so much..."

"How many!"

"One. It must have been Akame."

Tatsumi's eyes were focused on the cross on her chest, but he knew Esdeath and Kurome exchanged a look. Esdeath let go to tell the guard to be extra careful tonight.

Tatsumi knew there would be no escaping Kurome.

"Tatsumi" she started. "Fill me in. What happened."

He wished he could look her in the eye.

"I was weak...couldn't stop her. I'm a total dumbass..."

"Where is he?"

"The body is- you don't want to see it, Kurome."

"Tell me where he is!"

He looked up. There were tears on her face and the shape of her lips told him she was angry.

"Keep walking straight through the woods 'till you get to a really thick evergreen. Turn right and eventually you'll get to a lake. That's where Wave is, and he's dead."

Pain erupted in his molars when she punched him.

"You say it like it's nothing!" she growled, before she began move toward the trees. She cursed when a wall of ice erupted in front of her. Her head whipped behind her to find Esdeath standing behind Tatsumi.

"No one leaves" said the General. The wall's sides expanded until they surrounded the camp. "No one leaves until our minds are settled."

The swordswoman glared at her, but nodded her head and stomped toward her tent.

"I'll have to check on her in the morning" she confided, grabbing Tatsumi's arm. "You won't be leaving my sight for a while. Change your clothes, they're damp. Bedtime."

He followed her into their tent and did as she ordered. When he turned around he was surprised with a rich, passionate kiss. Her lips pushed against his and he pushed back.

"I almost lost you again" she lamented after some moments.

Tatsumi didn't say anything.

"Let's go to bed."

"Esdeath."

She stopped tugging his hand, waiting.

"...I want nothing more than to have sex with you, right now."

They way she smiled almost brought tears to his eyes.

"I know how you feel" she answered. "You may think otherwise but now's not a good time for you. You're face is blank and wants to burst into tears."

He realized she was right; sleeping the night away in her arms sounded more favorable to sex.

"...but thank you" she added.

As she snored behind him, he could have sworn he heard Kurome laughing.


	16. Skeletons

Three years ago

The snow was often frozen up North. If she tried, Esdeath could easily make it crack underneath her sharp, white boots. Sometimes as she walked on it, she observed how long she could go before she placed a little too much pressure on her heel to make it break. It became a game for herself, something to play while she waited for a signal to move ahead or as a deserter pleaded for their life.

"General. We've confirmed they have artillery" said a flat voice. "Luckily, they're only model tens; we're out of range for them while they aren't for us."

She looked to her right, arms crossed, the snow finally crunching beneath her heel. The Capitol had assigned an apprentice to her, and the girl was fine enough. However, she never lost the level of discipline they struck into recruits during parades. If she continued acting this boring, she would need a talking-to soon enough.

"Just Esdeath is fine, Najenda" she proclaimed, smiling. "A little informality between us is okay."

"Yes, of course. The soldiers are ready to attack."

"Excellent" she praised, getting onto her horse. Najenda followed suit.

They had been pursuing a rebel General and teigu-user for a month. They'd clashed with his forces twice before, capturing his teigu during the second battle through sheer luck. Now that Garu and his soldiers had holed up in a hotel, she was sure they would crush them. She would make their final stand a final bloodbath.

Half a mile ahead was the hotel, called the Double Swan. The snow reflected the moonlight, making the night even brighter than it should have been. The Swan's dark brick walls looked like chocolate against the blue vanilla mountains behind it. Thick oak doors barricaded the entrance, with a large window set above like the eye of a Cyclops. To Najenda the window and double doors looked like a face fixed in a silent scream. The Swan's roof was flat and grey, angling hard as it reached the top edges of the walls. Below the roof and next to the doors were many small, narrow windows, presumably for the hotel's rooms.

"And the Swan's guests?" asked Esdeath.

"They said they refuse to let the hostages go. They won't give in to our demands until we leave."

The General grinned, fingering the pommel of her rapier with her left thumb.

"Oh? I thought the rebels were for the _people..._ "

Drawing the sword, she continued, "Now we can tell Honest that we at least _tried_ to save them. Oh well..."

The cannons were ordered to fire. In front of Esdeath and the army behind her the guns exploded, sending large balls of lead across the white plain toward the hotel. Through small binoculars, Najenda relayed the damage as it happened.

"We've taken out one of their guns. Another one down. The front doors have shattered open."

She put down the binoculars and looked to Esdeath.

"I don't think they expected us to attack while they still held hostages."

"They don't seem to know yet that it's _me_ their dealing with" she proclaimed, savagely grinning. "I love it when they get taken by surprise; makes me feel like a...jack-in-the-box."

After a few more volleys, Esdeath gave the order to stop. A booming protest, then the cannons became silent. She raised the sword above her head, turning the horse to face her army.

"Kill them!" she ordered. "Violate them! This is their last night alive!"

The soldiers roared in response, clashing their weapons against their armor. It made a sound like thunder. Rejoining Najenda, she let out a joyful laugh.

"I do love riling them up like that" she confided. "Do it."

Using the whistle around her neck, Najenda gave the signal to charge. They both yelled to start the horses and sped toward the hotel, which was shattered and broken from the bombardment. Behind them the soldiers ran, bellowing and screaming. The many different voices shouting and yelling produced a shrill wind-like wail that exploded through the tundra plain. It was the trademark imperial battle cry-the Wind Scream.

"Watch this!" Esdeath shouted to Najenda. Reaching her hand back, she made a ball of ice the size of a watermelon. Throwing her hand forward, the ball flung itself toward the hotel. Reaching back again, she made an even bigger shape form; a boulder-sized ball was soon shot toward the makeshift fortress, creating a large hole in the large ornate window above the shattered double-doors. She knew seeing her use her new teigu like this would boost the soldier's morale even more. Looking to her right, she was pleased to see Najenda was wide-eyed; almost horrified by Esdeath's power. Najenda shuddered to think what would happen if the General became an expert with this teigu. Looking back toward the hotel, she noticed the eye now had a large, jagged, black pupil in it.

They had gotten close enough for the enemies' few cannons to start firing. A puff of grey smoke erupted from a sixth-floor window. Following the low arcing whine, a loud _thud_ exploded behind them, sending snow and dirt all around the impact. A clod of frozen dirt shattered on a soldier's black helmet. A few more shots followed, before the rebel cannons went silent again. Esdeath wondered if they had run out of ammo already.

In seconds what was left of the doors was in front of them. Esdeath rode through, Najenda right behind. They stopped their horses, expecting enemy resistance, but found the lobby was empty.

Hopping off, Esdeath looked around. Najenda followed, glancing to some barrels next to the stairs ahead and sniffling.

"Esdeath-"

The General smelled it too-gunpowder. However, grabbing Esdeath by the arm and heading toward the exit, Najenda was the first to react.

They made it out just in time; the barrels exploding as they dropped prone into the snow outside. The eruptions were small and flameless, but they sent wooden splinters from the floor and stairs everywhere. If the two of them remained in the lobby, they would have been dead.

"You should stop riding horses" Najenda shouted. "Every time you do they end up dead."

"Who knows?" replied Esdeath, getting to her feet. "Maybe I should tame myself a danger beast."

Esdeath's force was briefed to flank the hotel, going around to break in through the south entrance, which was just as grandiose as this one. She briefly watched them move, then turned and followed Najenda back into the hotel. Dust was still settling, but they both sensed that no enemies were nearby.

"Where are they?" asked Najenda, cutlass drawn. Her left hand strayed to the flintlock pistol strapped next to her chest, but it slowly fell back to her side.

Fading into their hearing was a horrible dry, groaning sound. It fluctuated between moaning and whinnying. Najenda looked to the right of the door and realized one of the horses was still alive. Striding to the corner of the room she authoritatively drew the pistol. The horse's back legs were ripped off, letting steaming entrails loose like octopus arms. Suddenly the whole room smelled like blood.

"Save the ammo, Najenda" called the General.

Nodding her head once, she stabbed its thick black head. There were only three more lead balls in her pouch, she remembered.

Straight ahead was what was left of the stairs. A huge hole gaped in the middle of it, before the rest of the wreckage collapsed, adding to the dust in the air. Esdeath coughed.

"Any way you can get us up there?" asked Najenda, pointing to where the stairs formerly led. Above was the second floor, which branched into two hallways on either side.

"I can try" Esdeath answered gravely. "I was foolish...I used too much energy on those ice balls during the charge."

Esdeath approached the oak wall next to the wreck. For some moments she seemed to enter a trance, staring at the wall with her sword out. Soon the air around her felt heavier, and frost formed near her feet. With a roar Esdeath was able to create a white pillar below her, lifting her high enough to climb onto the second floor. Najenda stuck her finger into it. This time Esdeath hadn't made ice, instead she made snow. Her teigu must have been really out of energy.

"When we get back home let's make a shaved ice stand" she remarked.

"If I make another pillar for you I don't know how much energy I'll have left before it affects my fighting ability" replied Esdeath, ignoring the joke.

"I understand. There may be a ladder in the basement; I'll find a way up somehow."

"Good. Meet you upstairs."

They parted, Najenda kicking the basement door down and Esdeath running through the left second floor hall.

When the rebels saw Esdeath's army going around, they abandoned their posts at the front to defend the south side. They weren't successful; the rebels were worn out and low on supplies. Some even tried to surrender, only to get killed. Eventually, the battle devolved into a cluster of blood, rape, and murder.

When Najenda found a ladder like she thought she would she climbed from the lobby toward the second floor. Tiny white dots spotted the navy blue carpet, making her think about walking on the night sky outside. There was the occasional large bloodstain, sometimes spotlighted by an even rarer lit lantern mounted to the wall.

She held her sword in her right hand and pistol in the left. Room doors were set in either side of the corridor, the even room numbers on the left and odd ones on the right. As she slowly paced the carpet, she couldn't help but read the numbers on the walls.

 _203...205...206 and 208..._

A frightened murmur came from further ahead. As she got closer, it suddenly stopped. Moving more silently, the sound slowly occurred again. Carefully putting her ear against the last door in the hall, she heard grunting. A rising cry sounded, before being muffled as a voice scolded harshly.

The door wasn't locked; opening it forcefully she aimed the pistol at the first red bandanna she saw. In less than a second the gun erupted and the far wall was splattered with red and flecks of white. After a quick glance she noticed the left side of the room was clear, than with a slash down she eliminated the remaining assailant. She looked down and realized he had tried to attack her with a broomstick. He was pants less. Ahead was the bloodstain, with the rebel's body on top of a woman. She blankly stared at the ceiling, her mouth still and dark hair dangling from the table they lay on. Leaving the room, Najenda headed toward the top third floor, clearing rooms in a similar fashion.

Upstairs most of the rebels seemed to be dead. Imperial soldiers had cleared all the rooms, and were either raping the female rebels or slaughtering the hostages. The hostages could actually be rebels in disguise, their General had said, so they killed them. Esdeath stood over Garu's wounded body, her heel on his testicles. Gazing down from her nose she twisted her left foot. He groaned like an animal.

"You look like an old man like that" she chuckled, gesturing to her face. "You shouldn't scowl too often; causes wrinkles."

He reached a shaking hand toward the dead boy beside him.

"Still trying to use the human shield?" she continued. "Aren't you people all about...justice and all that? See, it doesn't matter what ideal you dream about. Because at the end of the day everyone's fucking _weak."_

A stomp from her left boot punctuated her sentence. Across the hall a woman broke free from an imperial's hold and charged into the room, eyes bloodshot. She dropped to her knees next to Garu's armored body, patting his cheek. His soulless gaze told her he was dead; he'd bled out from his amputated legs.

The way her body shuffled about the stomach told Esdeath she was pregnant. The woman set her forehead on his iron chest plate, wailing. Esdeath's eye twitched, but her grin remained.

"Can you shut up?" she sighed, her foot slamming into the woman's head with a kick. The way people's mouths gaped when kicked in the jaw irked her, so she did it again.

"You've been bad to momma" she proclaimed, "You go and get yourself knocked up with the Empire's enemy and for what? A _boy_! For Garu!"

Somewhere outside she thought she heard a laugh. It may have been because of her but she knew her soldiers were too busy reaping their spoils.

The woman was on her side, completely defeated. Licking her lips, Esdeath crouched and stroked the woman's cheek.

"But I see you feel guilt, so momma forgives you" she crooned before leaning in to lick her ear.

Then she whispered "Momma always has you're back."

The General stood, her face smug. Something about the red bruise on the woman's face and the salty taste of her ear revitalized her.

Suddenly the woman convulsed. Quickly her moan became a scream as she turned over on her back, limbs flailing madly. There was a sound like an orange being squeezed in a vice and then something splurged from her pregnant stomach. Esdeath bent over, plucking something from the floor. Thick, violet blood dripped from her chin and breasts.

Raising herself again, she turned toward the door. There stood her second-in-command, wide-eyed and clutching her stomach.

"Hi, Najenda" she greeted, holding up the large, bullet-shaped object in a fist. "Ha-ha, get it? It's supposed to be a cock. Because she's a whore."

Najenda backed away. With a glance to the door she noticed they were in room 303. It was the first of many moments that caused her to defect.

Present day

Stylish leaned against a tree, shuffled away from it, than leaned back. He repeated this several times; moving the body kept it from getting cold. There was a corncob pipe in his hand. Next to him stood Mimi, one of his subordinates.

"I don't hear nothin'" she proclaimed frustratedly, crouching on all fours with a giant ear to the ground.

Stylish inhaled from the pipe, holding it in a little, than exhaled.

"Want some?" he offered, holding the pipe out. "It'll calm you."

Mimi closed her eyes to listen harder while Stylish continued speaking.

"I know you want to get them, but if you don't relax a little, you'll never find them-"

"Shut up! I hear something right now!"

Eyelids tightening, she followed the sound as best she could.

 _Plump...plump...plump_

It must've been the footsteps of something heavy. She had heard the sound many times before, and recognized it to be a danger beast, perhaps fifty yards away from the other end of camp. As long as no one treaded into its territory, they would be fine.

"It's nothing" she pouted, getting up.

"Money isn't everything, you know."

Mimi was obsessed with catching Night Raid. It wasn't because they killed important Imperial assets, but because they were worth money, dead or alive. They had the highest bounty in the entire empire at two million dollars, and that was for each individual member.

"Cash gets me food" she retorted, arms crossing.

"And what gave you those ears?" he questioned knowingly, smoke coming out of his mouth with every word.

"Um...you?"

"No, it was my _kindness_."

"Oh, fuck that" Mimi snorted, tapping her artificial ears. "If you didn't have tax money you wouldn't be able to make these."

The doctor raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine, believe what you want..."

They were silent for a moment, watching the trees, gray in the moonlight, sway in the tundra wind. Somehow it felt colder than the previous night.

"How's the rest of Team Stylish?" the doctor inquired.

She scratched the back of her head. When she looked at her nails, they came back bloody. Whenever she hadn't washed herself in a while she scratched her head until it bled.

"Everyone's good. Trooma and I hate traveling, but so far it's been...pleasant."

"That's excellent, Mimi."

She watched him take a long draw from his pipe, but the orange glow from its bowl was gone. He exhaled cold vapor, a disappointed look on his face. Taking a match out his pocket, he struck one on the box and relit the pipe.

"Damn thing" he cursed.

"Where's Toby?"

Stylish took a successful draw and glanced to her.

"Hmm?"

"Toby. I haven't seen him at all during the trip. Was he with one of the Jaeger's wagons?"

Stylish shook his head; Toby, another member of Team Stylish, was actually entrusted to stay in the Capitol to care for Mine. He hadn't told him about Mine's previous occupation, only that no one else was to see her.

"Toby caught a cold" stated the doctor.

She stared down the base of a tree. They had made camp in a forest again, the road visible through the trees so they could continue moving tomorrow.

"You might not want to sleep with your ears on tonight if you're pitching a tent near the general's" Stylish warned.

"Why's that?"

"Well, just had a feeling."

 _..._

" _You know who they are, Tatsumi?"_

 _He didn't. He had no idea who the armored men were. All he knew was that they had scary faces, and large, authoritative black boots._

" _They're from the Capitol" continued Sayo. "They're here to protect us from the monsters and bandits."_

 _He understood that their presence was a good thing. A few days ago he saw an old woman stare at him, fidgeting in the red snow with multiple stab wounds in her back. The robbers had asked her where the little boys were. She refused to answer, so they knocked her down and thrusted their spears into her. He saw the whole thing while hiding in a barrel._

 _Inside the village hall the soldiers spoke with the man behind the counter._

" _We don't have enough yet" the man stated. "I'm sorry."_

" _No worries, as long as we get it eventually. The company's mostly new recruits, so this is more for their exercise than anything. As of now just room and board is enough."_

 _Something was different about the voices of the soldiers. They were mostly young, a little older than Ieyasu's older brother, Ray. There weren't many people Ray's age in the village._

" _I can't thank you enough" said the man._

" _No problem village chief."_

 _After the three soldiers passed by him Tatsumi caught the eye of the man behind the table._

" _Tatsumi! Sayo! What're you doing here? None of you are supposed to be here!"_

 _He felt Sayo grip his hand and quickly followed her out the hall, her laughter nibbling at the air around them._

 _The next day two men approached him and Sayo as they played. They wore the same armor as the three in town hall._

" _You two look like you're good at finding things" the tall one began, "we lost a dagger in the woods, can ya'll help us find it?"_

 _Sayo pointed to the knife on his belt._

" _But you both have them on you" she said._

 _The shorter one smiled._

" _It's for a friend, see..."_

" _Oh, hokay."_

 _As they moved toward the woods Tatsumi noticed other soldiers looking on. Some looked confused, others annoyed. He recognized one to be the man who spoke to the village chief earlier._

 _The forest was across the clearing behind the village. The snow covered everything, but was still only a few inches thick. The heavy snowfall wouldn't occur for another month. As they trekked through the marshmallow plain, some buzzards circled near the edge of the woods. Their dark figures against the gray sky made Tatsumi think of black pepper on rice gruel. His stomach rumbled._

 _Upon reaching the forest they hopped a fallen log. The tall soldier explained he had an idea of where the dagger was, and would lead them to it._

" _Sayo" Tatsumi mumbled, "I'm hungry."_

" _Let's find their thing first, okay?"_

" _Sure."_

 _After a few minutes' walk the tall one stopped. He turned around, a gleam in his eye._

" _This part looks the most familiar" he proclaimed, nodding to the short one._

 _Suddenly Tatsumi was grabbed; both the tall man's arms were looped around his shoulders and he was lifted from the ground. He kicked and screeched, but nothing seemed to work. Even calling for Sayo did nothing._

 _When he looked ahead of him, he realized why. The short one was upon Sayo, hand holding both her arms down, her back to the snow. When Sayo came close to escaping, he held her neck instead, choking her._

" _Wanna make me work for it? Fine, I'm used to that! I can do that!"_

" _Don't beat her up too much, dumbass" the voice behind Tatsumi warned._

 _Tatsumi needed to do something. Tears flowing from his shut eyes, he wished for a way to escape this. He called for Sayo's momma._

" _Shut the fuck up, willya?"_

" _It's okay, no one's gonna hear a thing. Hurry up so I get my turn."_

 _He had never heard anyone sound so defeated as when Sayo cried, her jet-black hair dirtied by muddy snow. The hands had left her throat by now, and were now ripping apart her shirt. Tatsumi tried to shout, but the words only came out as an anguished cry._

" _I wish I could do something" he thought._

" _I wish I could do something I wish I could do something I wish I could do something-"_

"NO GET THE F-"

He was in bed, his bare body raised and sticky with sweat. Esdeath was sitting up too, staring at him.

"Bad dream?"

He rubbed his eyes.

"...shit. Yeah."

"Need some water?"

"Yeah."

There was a moment of stillness before her sudden embrace shattered his restlessness.

"Thanks, Esdeath."

"Mhmm."

After a moment she let go, sliding off the bed.

"I'll see if Bols has heated any water" she proclaimed.

"Thanks."

She left the tent in baggy pants and combat boots. As she brought the flap back down from outside he thought about his dream.

 _Why did I have to remember that now?_

He realized why shortly after that thought. He had spent most of his life in inactivity; avoiding confrontation and when confronted, choosing to stand passively by. Sure, he had killed danger beasts before, such as when he saved Fisher Village, but that was different. He wasn't thinking about the townspeople when he killed the danger beast, just himself and the opportunity to show off that it presented. He was saving his own skin. When Sayo's life was in danger, he did nothing. When Wave died, he did nothing until Akame came after him. The dream must have been to show him that.

 _Akame took you both by surprise; don't be so hard on yourself-_

No. If he was more prepared, if he took more _action_ , Wave would be alive. Hell, he could've gotten a lucky shot into her face.

 _Wave was weak._

He remembered what he told himself on that frozen lake the night before. Wave was weak, so he suffered. Wave was weak, so he died. That was all there was to it.

Still, it didn't feel right anymore to say that, now that he was in his right mind. It felt more natural to take responsibility for his death. He also remembered taking Wave's boots and sword. They were in a box with the rest of the convoy. He cringed a little.

"I'm back" Esdeath sang. She held a steaming tin cup. "Drink."

He took it from her and sipped. The warm water eased its way through his body.

"Is it okay if you tell me about your dream?" she asked, taking off her boots and sitting back onto the bed.

He sipped more of the water as he nodded. He left the cup on an ice nightstand and sighed.

"It was more like a memory than anything."

He looked to her before she gestured for him to keep going.

"...when I was eight...or nine my village had a problem with bandits. We didn't have much of a force to drive them off, so an imperial company passing by decided to lend a hand. The soldiers quartered in our village for a week until they took care of the bandits, but on the first day..."

He studied her hands, reminding himself how lovely they were, even when constant warfare and action had made them scarred and the nails stubby.

"...on the first day two of them; the soldiers I mean, violated my friend, Sayo. I was alone with her at the time. One of them held me down, but..."

There was half a minute of silence as he watched her hands. Her index finger twitched.

"I didn't do anything...I struggled a little, but not as much as I could."

His voice grew weak.

"...I just watched...let it all happen..."

More warm water entered his throat before he spoke again.

"It wasn't until the soldier's leader arrived that it ended. He beat the one who was in top...on top of Sayo. He beat him bloody. There was a little knife fight between him and the one who had me down. The captain won."

Esdeath nodded, her face blank. Tatsumi assumed his story had disturbed her. However, it didn't.

"That's a shame" she commented.

"It was...awful...and wrong."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Sayo was just too weak."

He gaped at her.

"Are you _serious_?"

"...when you're weak, you're powerless. When you're powerless, you get hurt. That's the way of things."

Tatsumi had heard her speak like this before. However, back when he heard this for the first time, he convinced himself it was just a front.

 _She's downplaying the pain of others to make herself feel better._

"So when Wave died..." Tatsumi began, eyes wide, "when he died, would you say that was 'cause he was too weak?"

"Yes."

His eyes shut tight and he pinched his nose, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. He could see where she was coming from; it was easy to see the comfort such words could bring to the person who said them. It wasn't _his_ responsibility, it was the _victim's._ It was Sayo and Wave's fault that they suffered, not his. Still, he hated that way of thinking. Denying responsibility was a cowardly thing to do, he remembered. That was what he learned in his village.

"You're just making yourself feel above them" he stated, volition seeping into his voice. "You don't really believe in what you're saying; just shielding yourself from the pain that comes with the death of another human being, from the death of one of your _soldiers!"_

Her eyes widened and brows furrowed in anger.

"No...shut up...shut the hell up..."

"Take responsibility! I'm not saying it was you're fault that he's gone, but can't you at least _acknowledge_ he was a good warrior, instead of just saying he was weak? Do you have any idea how much it hurts his memory when you do that-?"

Her hand gripped his throat and pushed him to the bed.

"You remember Kurome last night?" she seethed. "You remember?"

He scowled, acknowledging her.

"She acts like that every time someone dies. _Every_ time! Do you have any idea how much that behavior gets in the way of our operations? Do you have _any_ idea? And not to mention, every time that happens, she tries to make them her puppet! She tries to find their bodies so she can make them one of her _death puppets!_ You think I disrespect the memory of the dead? You've never seen those puppets, you've never seen them, their former selves reduced to blank-staring, soundlessly moving slaves just because someone couldn't learn to fucking let go!"

"Let go of me."

Her hand released him before he pushed his knee between her legs, flipping her over so he was on top.

"I've never heard of that" he claimed, tone lightening.

"It's true; her teigu, Yatsufusa, can reanimate the bodies of the dead" she replied, her tone also lightening.

He gazed down to her shirt. It was her white-button up, the top four buttons undone to make room for her cleavage.

"I didn't know...you felt that way..."

"I _love_ my comrades. My soldiers are my livelihood. But this is war, Tatsumi. I can't let my emotions get in the way of my job."

Despite their position, she was still acting serious. He suddenly felt a dominance that was rare when he was with her, and he wasn't going to pass it up. He had a sudden impulse to grab her breast until she squealed, and he took it.

" _Tatsumi!"_

A feral grin stretched across his face. A bystander would have found it similar to Esdeath's.

"You're really fucking hot, you know that?" he said.

She realized what was happening.

"I know" she replied with a smile.

Esdeath shoved her head into his chest, knocking him aside. After a small, playful struggle, she was atop of him, leaning toward his face.

"Don't get cocky, handsome slave."

His hands slid up her body as she sighed in pleasure, her breath getting in his face. He lifted his head to swirl his tongue around her left nipple, even though it was still clothed.

"Are you acting on your offer from before?" she crooned.

In response he squeezed her right breast hard. She let out a small scream.

"Tatsumi, the other one."

He did as ordered, moving his attention to the right one, and squeezing the left breast, the drying saliva sliding between her skin and his fingers. She frowned when he took his mouth off her.

"We were so mad at each other before..." he chuckled.

"Not mad, just understanding each other" she replied. "Now shut up and keep going; I didn't hire you to talk, _slave."_

"Yes, _mistress_."

He unbuttoned enough of her shirt to allow full access to her chest. After a few minutes of him stimulating her she stood up. She took off her pants and threw them to the side of the tent.

"We're trying something new" she proclaimed.

With barely any warning she pushed herself onto his face. He grabbed her waist, breathing hard through his nose. Not knowing what to do, he stuck his tongue out and licked. Than he patted her to tell her get off. When she did he gasped for air as if he was surfacing at a lake.

"Give me more warning next time!"

"You look good with your face all red like that."

Catching his breath, he rested his head back into the pillow, grumbling from her little game.

"Well, I'm ready now."

With less force this time, she placed herself atop his mouth. Every time he did something she liked, she praised him. Eventually he found a good rhythm and placement and he ate her, her waist bouncing slightly on his head.

"Mmmn, damn baby...right on my clit..."

Her back arched, a soft lightness squirmed through her stomach. The lightness quickly grew dense and burning, before it exploded into an orgasm. At first she groaned, before her voice rose in pitch as if singing.

"Uuggghh! Araah...hmmmmn!"

Tatsumi hadn't breathed through his mouth in ten minutes. As a result, his breath was incredibly labored when she got off. When he finally caught his breath and opened his eyes, she sat in front of him, watching with a smug expression. He wondered what she was planning.

As if she read his mind, she spoke.

"Just...enjoying the view. You look really good with my...fluid all over you."

"You made the mess."

"A beautiful mess" she replied, leaning in. "Let's clean it up."

Her tongue swirled over his face, licking up her own juices. He felt her soft thigh rub against his cock and exhaled.

"We're not done yet!" she exclaimed, mistaking it for a sigh.

The blankets were already moved to the sides of the bed, some of them on the floor. The heat of her crotch pressed onto his, squeezing his member between herself and his abdomen. She smirked as he exhaled sharply.

"I'm ready" she said. "Are you?"

Tatsumi had always imagined losing his virginity to be a daunting task. However, he had discovered it was like hosting a party; go with the flow and everything will come right to you.

"What d'you think?" he growled harshly, ripping through what remained of her buttons. He leaned his head back to admire his handiwork: a beautiful smirking succubus straddling his waist, her sizable breasts exposed and white cloth flanking her curvaceous body. He had never thought his journey to the Capitol would bring him to something like this.

Then he remembered.

 _Mine._

Guiltily he realized he hadn't thought about Mine in days. She was left under Stylish's assistant's care and that was that; he forgot about her. When he first met her, Mine hadn't eaten in days, was dehydrated, and had broken limbs. She was even impaled to a rock. Now the woman who did that to her was in front of him, almost naked and staring curiously, head tilted cutely.

"What's wrong?" Esdeath asked.

Tatsumi shook his head. He would think about it later.

"Nothing. Damn, you're wet."

"Damn straight, baby."

She positioned herself above his member, hesitated, and then sunk herself slowly onto him. He inhaled and held it in, watching his member disappear into her mass of fluid and hair until only half an inch remained. He couldn't help but buck a little. Then he finally exhaled.

"I'm just as inexperienced as you, so bear with me here" admitted Esdeath.

A part of Tatsumi was shocked. However, he was too distracted to think about it too long. Feeling like he had to do something too, he clasped her waist underneath her shirt with both hands.

"Yes baby, don't be shy" she praised.

Slowly and carefully she began to grind on him. After a moment of this they both sighed in pleasure at the same time. They smirked at each other.

She felt amazing; he wanted to feel more of her. Gliding his hands through her skin until they reached her chest, his crotch tensed. Suddenly, as he squeezed her, a finalizing series of pulses of pleasure ran through his member. He realized he had finished.

"Esdeath..."

A finger pressing to his lips silenced him. She looked at the side of the tent, flinching. Her crotch squeezed him for a moment, and then lightened. Her face was red.

"Is someone there?" he whispered through her finger.

She shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

"-nothing" she replied. Something was submissive about her voice, and it pleased him.

"C'mon girl, tell me. If it's about me cumming, I can get it up again. I'm still hard-"

"I almost farted, okay!?"

He looked at her for some moments, and then laughed aloud. The great General Esdeath, embarrassed about almost farting during sex amused him.

"You're cute as hell" he teased.

"Shut the hell up."

She winced some more before grinding a little, more confident in her movements. A little bored with her on top, he offered to give riding her a try. Suddenly she stopped and slapped his shoulder.

" _No"_ she answered.

"What?"

"I'm to dominate you, understand?"

Her face was stern as she spoke.

"Is it important to you?" he questioned.

"Yes."

Her eyes never left his.

"Okay."

She leaned in, kissing him. Her tempo became faster. Seeing nothing but her sexy blue eyes as she rode him made his breath heavy with desire.

"I love you" he sighed, meaning it.

"I love you too" she reciprocated, "and I love fuckin' you."

Relishing her carnal touch below his waist, he reached behind her head to kiss her. Their tongues fighting for dominance, they paused their movement and focused on kissing. After a minute she broke away and continued riding him, leaving him wondering who won their little fight. He wondered if he had, though he was sure she did. It didn't matter anyway; he just wanted to feel as much of her as he could.

Soon she had sped up a lot. Still leaning in, she showed no signs of tiring. His hands had returned to her hips, following their fast, circular movements.

"Mmnn, Tatsumi..."

He exhaled with a throaty sound. Stimulating herself with her right hand as she moved atop of him, she stared at the symbol on his left pectoral. It was jagged and sharp, like an ancient image of the sun.

"Tatsu... _fuck."_

She came twice, the combination of rubbing herself and the cock she had waited for so long unleashing the mother of orgasms. Her voice almost wailed, and she had to suppress it so that no one outside would hear. Luckily Tatsumi held his hands over her mouth, giving her a kinky feeling in her chest. Then she orgasmed a third time. Her wail muddled through his hands, letting out a sound that aroused both of them. Like a toboggan at the end of a hill, she slowed, an epilogue of pleasure pulsing through her crotch.

"Oh my god" she said, laughing. "Oh my...just oh my _god."_

Tatsumi's chest rose with pride. It was his first time pleasuring a woman like this and she liked it. However, there was one thing missing, and Esdeath realized it too.

"Did you come yet?" she asked, both of them breathing heavily.

"No" he replied, smiling. "But I'm glad you did."

She raised herself so that she could slide up and down directly on his cock. Smirking, she thought to herself that he would enjoy the view.

"This'll make you go" she proclaimed smugly.

Her hips bounced onto him, as opposed to the rocking motion from before. She still stirred slightly; she wanted some pleasure too, but this was mainly to please him. Her right hand pressed to his chest for support, her juices from before still lingering on her middle fingers.

"Cum inside me!" she exclaimed. "Shoot your hot Northern cum inside my hungry pussy!"

Her words drove him wild; he had never heard anyone speak like that before. His grip on her hips tightening, he gave a small moan. He wanted to hold out some more, so he could hear more of those words.

"C'mon _slave._ Do it! Cum in me! I order you, you little fuck!"

That was the last straw. Against his will, something rose from deepest parts of his body. After four short moans, he finished into her velvety insides with a final groan. She encouraged him with a moan of her own. She began to slow again, her hips taking on the same rocking motion as before. Both her hands now used his chest for support as he lay on the bed, satisfied with his first sex.

"God... _damn!_ " he praised, breathing heavily with his eyes closed. He opened them and raised himself, licking her erect nipples some more. As he gently grazed his teeth on her left one, she brought his face up to kiss her. Again they assaulted each other's mouth with their tongues. For two minutes they did this, kissing as she slowly grinded against him. Occasionally her nipples would briefly rub against his chest. Then she stopped all movement and got off him, stepping off the bed to gather the blankets on the ground.

"Holy shit...you've got a talent for this" he proclaimed. "Especially near the end, when you talked like that...wow!"

"Thank you" she replied, smiling.

As she bent over to pick up the last of the sheets, Tatsumi slapped her buttocks.

" _Tatsumi!"_

He wore a mischievous grin she hadn't seen before.

"Come to bed" he told her.

Not caring about whether the bed was made or not, she jumped in next to him, smiling and climbing over him again, kissing him as he fondled her chest. Silently thanking herself for the golden artifact under the bed, she bit his ear.

...

Kurome stared at her hands. The tent was small, white moonlight filtering through the fabric in small patches.

They had moved camp the morning Wave...left. They escorted the convoy for twenty-five more miles, keeping watch for Night Raid and other rebel forces. Since Run had a flying teigu, he kept watch from above, hovering slightly ahead of the group. Esdeath gave the command to stop to make camp, then the convoy's lead driver blew a horn. Made to sound like a danger beast's roar, it didn't draw any unwanted attention. Run returned at the sound to keep watch as they made camp.

Inside her tent she mindlessly ate her cookies. The snow underneath was three inches deep, but if she tried, she could feel the branches and roots that lay on the ground. In the spring there must have been many things on the forest floor. Twigs, grasses, ants, perhaps even apples. Apple trees grew in this area, didn't they?

 _Apples._

Apples are red.

Akame's gauntlets were red; hell, red was her dear sister's favorite color.

Kurome remembered the training camp they went through years ago; the instructors told them they were going to be elite assassins and warriors. Only the strongest would survive this program, they said. It wasn't a program, however, just a no-holds-barred battle royale.

In those days Kurome relied solely on Akame's guidance. No, guidance was the wrong word. Guidance implied Akame was teaching her something. Akame didn't teach her anything, instead she _spoiled_ her. Spoiled her rotten. Akame did everything for Kurome while she struggled to deal with their new reality like a baby. Akame fought and bled while Kurome just stood behind something and watched, looking all scared and helpless like a kitten. It was a wonder they survived at all; they were so different from each other.

No teamwork ever came into the equation until Edwin showed up.

Edwin was dark-skinned, and as much an outcast as them, though she knew that wasn't why he helped them. She never figured out the reason why he did so. Still, he was very useful until he took a cannonball to the stomach. They had tried to desert the battle, and he paid the price for it.

Kurome remembered Akame's reaction to Edwin's death very well.

"Eddie, get up!" she had wailed. "I know you're alive; you're looking at me like you are! Stop looking at me like that! Stop it!"

In a fit of rage, or sadness, or at least _something,_ Akame had slashed his eyes with a dagger until they didn't stare anymore. Ever since then, they stayed far away from that area of the forest. Akame avoided the corpses of her allies like the plague.

Kurome traced her finger along the scabbard of Yatsufusa, almost sensually. Kurome and her sister both had their unique ways of dealing with loss. Akame kept her distance, as if to forget they even existed. Kurome, however...

She held up the sheathed sword, gripping it above the hilt.

...she kept them close. She even did so to her enemies if they were strong enough. Unfortunately, the dear general wouldn't let her keep Wave. Esdeath had a horribly firm disapproval in her eye when she had told her

" _No one leaves until our minds are settled."_

What the hell was her problem? Kurome had the feeling Esdeath didn't like her habit one bit, especially when she used it on allies. She briefly pondered asking Esdeath for permission to go back to the last campsite. If she hitched a ride on Run's back, she could easily make it back by morning. She could follow Tatsumi's directions from before and head to Wave's grave. Upon reanimating him she'd make him do a little dance; she always did that when she had a new conscript for her dead army. Then Yatsufusa would swallow him up to be deployed later. All she had to do was go outside, stride toward Esdeath and Tatsumi's grandiose tent, than say "hey, my mind's settled now, can I leave camp for a bit? A teensy-weensy bit?"

A grin stretched across her face before she laughed to herself, her hand over her eyes. It was a genuine heartfelt laugh.

 _That's one thing that'll never change between you and me, big sister. We both get a little too upset over the people we lose._

"Kurome?"

Suddenly stone-faced, she noticed Bol's hulking shadow at the front of the tent. The voice that came from her mouth was as steadily dead-panned as it usually was.

"Yep."

"You okay in there?"

"I'm good."

The shadow left, moving back toward the bright glow of the campfire in the middle of the gray mass of tents.

...

In order to get to the City of Pain, they had to pass through the Shuang Mountains, Esdeath knew that. What she didn't know until now was that contradicting the Empire's weather forecasts would be a blizzard to make the mountain trek even worse.

The convoy had finally made it out of the forest, a large white plain stretching out in front of them, the whiteness broken only by a cobblestone village. Beyond it were the mountains they had to cross. An ash-gray mass hung ominously over the mountain range, juxtaposing with the white sheet that covered the rest of the sky. There was no way the convoy would move an inch in the blizzard, even if they traded their horses for oxen at the village. The only solution she could think of was to quarter in the village.

"The villagers would get mad; it looks too small for us" Tatsumi warned her when she relayed her plan to him. "Plus, we have surplus teigus. What if there's a spy or two in there? We should set up camp somewhere and wait out the blizzard."

She agreed, but noticed that her soldiers were wary of camping. The whole trip they had been hoping to have a warm bed and home-cooked food at the village, even though no one told them they would have any. Plus, she didn't know what to do when the blizzard finally came. None of their tents were outfitted to deal with the strong winds of a blizzard.

"I can go to the village myself" Tatsumi volunteered. "I could ask around; see if there's anywhere we could go."

She made River go with him, River giving a cursory nod. She knew they both had differences to sort out and saw this as the perfect chance to fix that.

"Now go" she ordered, the three of them standing in front of the convoy, "both of you."

She watched them ride off on a single horse, since Tatsumi never learned how to ride one.

...

The village reminded him of his home; as Tatsumi strode past the houses with River, he felt like he knew exactly where to go.

"We'll need to get to the town hall" he told River, giving a furtive glance.

"Mhmm."

"Once we get there, we ask the highest authority in the village for some tips and then we go back."

"Hmm."

Briefly Tatsumi scowled. He didn't understand why the man had to act so distant with him. They strolled through the path, Tatsumi noting that there weren't many people outside. He wondered if this was a village where they didn't welcome outsiders.

"Tatsumi."

"Huh? Yeah?"

"What do you think of Stylish, the doctor?"

He thought a moment.

"Well, he's quirky...but he doesn't seem to mean any real harm."

"Hmm. I see."

The town hall was only slightly larger than the other houses; the only thing distinguishing it from the rest of the buildings was its triangular roof. Piles of snow rested below the roof's edges where the snow had slipped off before. The entire roof was still covered, so Tatsumi realized it must have snowed here recently. Using the handle in the center of the thick oak door, Tatsumi knocked twice.

A round man opened it, his hair gray and dark skin spotted with moles. His narrow eyes studied them as Tatsumi introduced himself and River.

"Hi! I'm Tatsumi, and this is-"

"River" he interjected, "I'm River."

"Uh, yeah, that's River. We're some...tourists who came to ski and we wanna know if you folks know of a good place to stay at before the storm."

The man at the door's voice was rough, like sandpaper.

"Thanks for not tryin' to room up here" he said, before looking River dead in the eyes. "We don't like...outsiders 'round here."

Tatsumi could see a large keg resting against the wall behind the man. An empty wooden mug lay toppled near it.

"You'll just have to make camp somewhere" he said. "Dig a hole or something to live in."

The door shut in their faces, making Tatsumi jump. He flipped the bird at the man's rudeness.

"The hell's your problem, asshole!"

The pair turned back only to see a hunched old woman stare at them, smirking. Her eyes were wide and her whole body shook as she tried to stand on her walking stick.

"There's a place that taught me many things!" she exclaimed. She raised her free hand and gently stuck a long-nailed pinkie into her ear. Unflinching, she laughed as the finger suddenly moved with the abandon of a healthy person's, twisting, turning, digging inside her ear canal. She laughed and laughed as both Tatsumi and River cringed. When she took her finger out, a glop of reddened earwax stuck to the tip. She flicked it at Tatsumi, laughing even harder when he urgently slapped it off. Blood slowly trickled from her ear. She gasped horribly for air as she pointed at them jeeringly, her mouth curled in a grotesque, almost toothless grin.

"Fan! Get back to church with everyone else!" barked a voice behind them. The man from before pushed past them and put her in a chicken-hold, lifting her and carrying her toward a tall gray building. Neither Tatsumi nor River remembered hearing the door behind them open.

"The ole bitch has gone senile" he claimed, giving them a cursory glance.

"They taught me everythin'!" the woman yelled after them. "Maybe they'll teach ya'll too!"

...

Esdeath frowned at the bad news.

River and Tatsumi stood at attention in front of the lead carriage of the convoy. They looked to Esdeath, her boots crunching in the snow as she moved toward them.

"It's unfortunate. Feel free to use me for warmth in the coming storm" added River.

Tatsumi glared at him.

"No thanks" she responded politely. "My teigu keeps me warm enough."

"But general-"

Pain exploded in his right cheek, sliding the flesh against his molars. He staggered, but didn't fall. Grimacing, he looked up to see Tatsumi's face, the brows bent.

"Don't..." began the boy's voice before another hand grabbed his collar. "Don't do that again, motherfucker!"

"Tatsumi! Let him go!"

River raised a hand in the general's direction, eyes never leaving Tatsumi's.

"So it's like that between you two now, huh" he observed, spitting a hunk of blood onto the snow. " _Fine."_

Slapping Tatsumi's hand away, he trudged toward the convoy.

...

With no other alternative, they made camp in the open, Esdeath forming a large blue dome around them. While it would prevent the blizzard's winds from reaching them, the extra ice made things much colder. Fires were made, but the firewood supply was dwindling. Morale among the soldiers was getting low. The screeching blizzard outside didn't help, either.

"Why don't we just kill everybody in the village and take it for ourselves?" one had said, shivering next to a dying fire.

"Bad for pr" replied Tatsumi. "Plus, villagers up here are hard to deal with, a lot of you would be dead."

The woman scowled at him. Tatsumi scowled back, though he didn't mean to sound as rude as he did.

Using the information from some books Stylish had, Seyru attempted construction on an igloo. It kept collapsing, and Koro kept taking bites from it. Kurome had run out of cookies and was becoming increasingly grumpy, though it only showed the few times she spoke. Run kept himself busy reading a novel and conversing with fawning female soldiers. Stylish and his subordinates had brought alcohol, and used it to cheer up the camp every night. Bols maintained the fires as best he could, but a few had completely died out by the fourth night. Even sleeping beside each other, which was standard protocol for the soldiers in the winter, didn't help with the chill. Tatsumi and Esdeath weren't affected, and it was hard for them to sympathize with the rest.

"I've had enough of their whining" Tatsumi proclaimed in their tent.

Esdeath nodded in agreement. It was the sixth night, and she had grown anxious for the soldier's morale.

"I'm gonna cut a way out" he continued, "and find somewhere we could move camp. This is getting ridiculous."

"I'll go with you; we're both immune to the cold, though maybe I am more than you."

"Good. I'll borrow an ice cutter from Stylish's wagon and we'll head out. Sound like a plan?"

She raised herself from the bed.

"Yes."

They followed through, telling Stylish what they were doing and borrowing some traveling gear. They cut a door-shaped hole in the dome and trudged through the white wind and knee-deep snow. Their hands clenched together to keep from getting separated, Tatsumi in front. Esdeath smirked behind him; it was cute how he was trying to lead.

"You ever thought about having sex in the snow?" she asked lecherously.

Pushing on, he answered.

"...well I am now."

"Imagine me riding you out here. We'll call it snowboarding. Interested?"

The wind picked up, its whistle evolving into a howl.

"Yes, very" he admitted. "But let's wait until another time."

"C'mon, Tatsu-bunny. You have the chance to copulate in a blizzard and you refuse?"

As they moved, he glanced to her.

"I have a feeling there'll be plenty of time for that. We have a job to do."

While they felt almost no chill, the depth of the snow and the screaming wind slowed them greatly. They had been traveling for an hour when Esdeath spoke again.

"You know, it makes a lot of sense."

"What does?"

"Intercourse in the snow."

"You're still talking about that?"

"Think about it! While it would be cold for normal people, it makes much more sense than in a field during summer. You won't have to worry about bugs getting inside-"

"Okay okay! Let's talk about something else! Like, um...how our days went!"

"I can't hear you! Wind's too loud!"

Another hour passed when a dark shape, barely visible through the falling snow loomed ahead. Tatsumi couldn't tell what it was, but it must have been huge.

"What do you think that is?!"

Esdeath didn't answer; the wind was still too loud. After what felt like eternity they reached the shape; it wasn't until it was a few feet away that they realized it was made of brick. The building's entrance was open, the doors long gone. Snow had piled inside through the opening, making Tatsumi think their search was in vain. Luckily, a ladder sticking out the snow leaned against the far wall. They climbed it and found themselves on another floor, overlooking the snow-covered entrance. In here it was quieter, and they didn't have to shout to each other.

"Tatsumi" said Esdeath.

"Mhmm?"

"There's no way we could bring camp here; it's too far away."

He had been thinking the same thing. However, it would have been a waste of a trek if the camp stayed.

"If I brought my own soldiers, we wouldn't have this problem" she continued.

"You mean...the people at camp aren't yours?"

She shook her head, an annoyed look on her face.

"Honest put me in charge of those _brats_. He didn't understand that there's a difference between my troops and the regulars."

Tatsumi had seen Esdeath's soldiers before; they wore black armor, the mark of her teigu on their breastplates painted in white. He had seen them train before; unlike most soldiers they trained out of their own volition. Using sheer willpower and extreme training exercises they were the fiercest in the Empire. They were like a platoon of leopards among a force of squirrels.

"Why don't we stay here awhile anyway" he offered, "we might find something interesting."

She looked around, and nodded.

"Of course..." she noticed there were two hallways, one behind Tatsumi and one behind her. "We seem to be in a hotel, Tatsumi."

"We should split up; I'll take the left hall and you take the other."

"Good idea."

...

The building was smaller than the hotels in the Capital, yet the hall seemed finite in the dark. Tatsumi had handed her a lantern before they split, and she almost forgot about it. The sound of it unclipping from her belt felt louder than it should have, like sneezing in a library. Something rattled in her mind, and she realized she had to light the lantern for it to work.

There was a matchbox in her sack; pulling it out it felt like sandpaper. Then she remembered the part that felt like sandpaper was where you struck the match.

 _Pull yourself together, Esdeath._

She didn't know why she felt so airheaded. It was like a gorilla had gripped her head, the pressure slowly squeezing out her wits. With a sharp slap she ripped herself from the gorilla's vice. Sliding the box from its cover, she picked a match, feeling for the phosphorus end so she knew which end to not hold. Then she slid the box back in the cover, slowly. If she did it too fast it would have gotten stuck. Holding the match in her teeth she opened a tiny hatch on the lantern's side. She plucked the match and struck it against the side of the box. Light erupted and green-purple spots grew in her vision.

"How you doin' over there?" called Tatsumi's voice. The closeness of it told her he had just started searching too.

"Feeling excellent" she shouted. "Which room should we fool around in?"

He shouted back; something about the top floor. He had started moving away, and she knew she had to do the same. After she lit the lantern she tossed the match aside, closing the hatch.

The light crept around the walls, but died five doors down. She began searching rooms, finding nothing but empty, freezing furniture and trash. Outside the storm groaned, and suddenly she was reminded of the previous night.

Ever since her sex with Tatsumi everything around seemed more vivid; colors had a vibrancy she hadn't noticed before and the complaints of the soldiers had become less irritable. She had become more thoughtful and calm, and found she hadn't had an impulse to grab Tatsumi by the throat once today. It was odd, she thought, he looked so charming when he was in her grip, or squealing from a pinch.

He seemed to have changed, too. Something about him became more aggressive; like when he punched River. Her heart swelled when he did it, but she also felt wary. The angry recklessness in his eyes made her wonder if males had an instinct to protect anyone they mated with recently; Run had told her of such a thing. However, if he was becoming quick tempered there no doubt he might do something foolish later.

Her thoughts returned to the task at hand, opening the door of 211. Again the room was empty, but an urge told her to give this one a chance and rummage through it.

In the flickering yellow light everything seemed to move, as if the room's objects had souls of their own. The empty bed frame, pockmarked dresser, and shattered dirty mirror's shadows danced. It was almost as if they were in mockery, like a crude victory dance. Upon closer inspection she noticed a small hole in the dresser's side, and a few slashes in the front. Someone seemed to have used an axe on it. The hole reminded her of ice fishing, where fishermen cut holes in thick lake ice to catch fish.

 _Wave did that a lot where he came from..._

She shook her head. There was no time to think about anything irrelevant. She had to get this over with so she could get back to Tatsumi.

Something white peeked over the top of the dresser. Plucking it with her fingers, she noticed it was an old piece of paper, kept together by the cold temperature. It was horribly yellow and the font was faded, but even in the dim light she could still read it.

 **LIFE IS A DREAM**

 **WELCOME TO THE DOUBLE SWAN**

 **ENJOY YOUR STAY.**

A grin etched across her snow-white face. She remembered this place.

"Life _is_ a dream" she remarked. "It can be a really good dream."


	17. Her Dark Shadow

"What an odd blizzard" remarked Kurome.

It was the first thing she had said since the camp's transition began, which was an hour ago. The sunny, blue sky was sandwiched between two dark, grey masses, one to the north, above the Shuang range and the other to the south, to the left of the convoy. If she squinted, she could see the snow falling from them. She didn't feel like sitting, so she walked next to the convoy, sheathed sword in her hand. Mud squished beneath her black boots, thick snow abruptly flanking her and the wagons. Not far ahead were the whooshing sounds of Bol's flamethrower.

The General and Tatsumi had used the break in the storm to relay the hotel's location. Excited at the prospect of a warmer place to sleep, the soldiers immediately began to pack up the next morning. Now it was 11:30, and the blizzard didn't seem it would return for another two hours.

"We got lucky" commented an enthusiastic voice ahead of her.

"It's so...convenient" Kurome replied, glancing to a turning Seyru. She suddenly regretted speaking.

Seyru faced Kurome, walking backwards. Kuro softly gazed to her while in Seyru's arms, before leaping out to play in the snow. His mistress called him halfheartedly before leaving him be.

Seyru sighed as if she were thinking about the best dessert in the world, before looking to Kurome, who didn't meet her gaze.

"Esdeath is amazing, isn't she."

Kurome stared at the swirling darkness above the mountain range before answering.

"She's a good leader..."

"Yes! You know, she's really good for morale! Like, that one time she hugged me in the flowerbed! Were you there?"

The swordswoman still faced the north, studying the view. It had been a month since she heard Seyru's last tirade. Koro scrambled wildly through the snow next to them, than paused to sneeze.

"No" answered Kurome. "I must've been busy."

"Well, I was angry at Koro for not sitting when I told him too, and then Esdeath hugged me! The most powerful and beautiful general in the world hugged me!"

By now Kurome wasn't listening. Looking past Seyru she saw their destination. Despite the sunlight, the Double Swan was as gray as it would have been during the storm, the broken window above the shattered entrance gaping at them.

...

By 2 o'clock most of the convoy was parked nearby, the cargo stored in large canvas tents outside. Important cargo, such as the teigus, were placed in the hotel. Esdeath allowed all her subordinates to choose their rooms; there was enough to go around. To Team Stylish and some other's dismay, the third and top floor was sealed off.

"Something's blocking it from inside!" Mimi growled, her headset idle around her neck. She slammed her shoulder into the door several times before muttering a few swears.

"What about the other door?" said a red-haired man, inspecting his fingernails with his helmet resting in his arm.

"Other door's sealed too" answered a guard.

Mimi's shoulder's tensed before slowly loosening as she let a out a long sigh. The red-headed boy jumped when she slammed her fist into the oak door.

"FUCK!" she yelled, a little spittle getting onto Stylish's coat.

"Mimi" he sighed, wiping with a handkerchief, "put on your ears and listen to some white noise outside. Take advantage of the peace we have before the storm returns."

"Suck my tits!"

"Keep those to yourself, please."

Someone gruffly cleared their throat from behind. Turning around, a chill went up Mimi's spine. The man behind started to move past her, his body like a giant.

"The fuck is up with him?" she blurted out. "Where the hell's his pupil-"

"Daidara!" exclaimed Stylish, giving Mimi a rough pinch to the neck. I haven't seen you at all during this trip! How've you been?"

"Good" he grunted.

Daidara reeled back before smashing his huge shoulder into the door. A bang erupted, but the door didn't budge.

"What the hell..." he muttered.

"Daidara!" another voice called confidently.

Behind the group Tatsumi reached the final step of the staircase. He entered the hall, one hand in his coat pocket.

"Daidara" he said again. "Esdeath wants to speak to you. In the lobby."

The hulking man scowled.

"Sure. How'd ya know my name."

"'Cause you fit her description perfectly."

With a humph Daidara approached the stairs, his boots clunking on the hardwood floor. When he was out of hearing, Tatsumi glanced to Stylish.

"Does he have a problem or something? The Three Beasts I've met so far really don't seem to like me."

"It's okay" Stylish sighed. "All three of those people...are pretty closed off in their own ways."

"What do you mean?"

"Once you meet them all you'll find out."

"...Cool...so what're you all doing here?"

As Tatsumi and Stylish talked Mimi couldn't help but notice the one with the brown hair. She had only had brief glimpses of him, but had never seen him this close before.

"We gonna get in or what?" said the redhead.

"Shut the fuck up, Trooma" she scolded in a hushed tone.

After a silence between them, Mimi faced him and spoke again.

"Who is he?"

Trooma blinked.

"Stylish."

"No, dumbass. I mean the guy..."

The helmet in Trooma's arm was switched to the other one.

"Him... I've seen him with the Jaegers... never really been formally introduced so I don't know..."

The conversation between the boy and Stylish died into a cursory exchange of goodbyes, than the boy turned back to the stairs, a floorboard creaking under him.

"Excuse me..." Mimi rasped, before clearing her throat and repeating herself.

Tatsumi turned, smiling at her.

"Hi! How're you?"

"Hi..."

His eyes were oddly charming; they were green yet against the black wood around them those eyes seemed to glow darkly, like a dolphin's back at night. It was almost like they weren't green at all, as if that color was just a mask they hid behind.

"Wh-what's you're name?" Mimi asked.

"Tatsumi. I'm a Jaeger. What about you?"

"My names...Mimi."

She noticed his boots. They shifted slightly, showing he wanted to be somewhere else.

"I'm from...Team Stylish. Tatsumi...it's nice to meet you..."

"Nice to see you too! I've gotta dash, I'll see you later um, Mee-Mee."

As he turned and quickly descended the stairs, she found that he had a handsome jawline. Behind her, Trooma chuckled.

"What the fuck is it?" Mimi shouted, turning.

"Nothing. Nothing at all, haha!"

She grabbed his collar, which than stretched from beneath his iron breastplate. Mimi's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Trooma grinned devilishly.

"Don't play the lovestruck girl" he warned, his mouth still crescented, eyes narrowing. "You don't deserve that role."

Mimi stared at his barefeet. She wondered why he had no shoes when he had bothered to wear the rest of his standard-issue armor. And weren't they cold? Her teeth gritted.

"Fuck you" she replied weakly.

A loud bang sounded. When she turned, she noticed Stylish stamp his black boot next to the doorknob. There was another bang.

"You know the door swings towards you, right?" asked Trooma.

Stylish chuckled.

"Yep. Those were more out of frustration than anything."

"Think we'll have to settle for the bottom floors, Doctor?"

Stylish glanced to him, a hand on his hip.

"Yes. A shame, the view from here would've been nice."

...

As Tatsumi took the last step down to the second floor, he noticed Kurome try to pass him.

"Hey Kurome."

"Hello."

She kept going, her brisk strides making the wooden stairs creak.

"Something's wrong with the third floor doors; if you're trying to get a room above everybody it won't work."

She stopped, the daylight from a nearby window bringing an ominous contrast with her dark uniform. She didn't face him.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No."

Her feet moved again, pacing up the steps two at a time. Tatsumi watched her ascent until the stairs curved and he couldn't see her. Shrugging to himself, he stepped out of the stairway and into the hall. Soldiers had fixed new lanterns and torches to the walls to replace the old, burnt out ones, but wouldn't light them until the sunlight disappeared. Now that Daidara was out of the way, he needed to finish his last order from Esdeath. Luckily, the person he needed was only just down the hall, leaning against the wall between rooms 203 and 205. He was sipping from his canteen and speaking to a soldier. The man looked up and smiled as Tatsumi approached.

"Hello, Tatsumi!"

The soldier peeked at him over her shoulder with a furtive glance.

"Hey, Run. Sorry to bother you, but Esdeath has a job for you."

"Of course she does" Run sighed. "What is it?"

"Hotels usually have a lot of wine in their cellar. She says you should go and check it out. If you find any, you get a whole keg to yourself."

Run's eyes brightened.

"Excellent! I could sure use some tonight!"

"Yeah, that goes for everybody."

"Alright, I'll get that over with soon enough."

Tatsumi turned, ready to go to bed. The trip toward camp, swimming through snow and then walking back to the hotel had exhausted him.

"Good. I'll see you."

"See ya!"

Tatsumi headed to the room he planned to share with Esdeath. There was still daylight, but through the window he could see the clouds had gotten much closer. They swirled and danced, and he could see the chaotic snowfall without squinting. The giant mass looked like a white beard, and for some reason he imagined the man the beard belonged to was really angry.

Behind him, set against the wall was an empty bed frame. He reminded himself to get their mattress and sheets from the Jaeger's supply carriage. Suddenly a thought shot through his mind.

 _We don't need them._

It was right, while they needed the mattress, they didn't need blankets. Cold didn't bother them; they could sleep just fine without blankets. However, that idea just felt wrong. Something about sleeping without sheets didn't feel right; as if he would be admitting something to himself that he didn't want said. He had no idea what that something was.

Than he remembered Esdeath used blankets too, and she was also an ice teigu user. He wondered if despite everything, there was a part of both of them that stubbornly wanted to remain completely human, no matter what. It was a surprising thought; Esdeath was always too pragmatic to have such feelings, but why else would she sleep the way she did? Stepping out of the room, he saw Koro, and stopped thinking about it.

"Hi dog."

He bent over to pet him, Koro's small body jumping to place his front paws on his knee. Koro sniffed at him a few times, slowly and deliberately. His beady black eyes gazed into Tatsumi's, tail wagging carefully. Than the dog got off and sat down, eyes never leaving his.

A shiver shot down Tatsumi's spine and he decided to get on with his business. The dog had it's cute moments, but it was still a teigu. It was a weapon disguised as a dog, not some puppy. As Tatsumi turned the corner to get to the first floor ladder, he noticed Koro was still intently staring at him.

The hotel's lobby had been cleared of snow, with all openings to the outside being sealed by Esdeath. Tatsumi stood by her as she did it; noticing her furtive glances to him as she held out her hands toward the empty doorway and the shattered window above it. After a few of these glances she finally asked him. He knew it was coming.

"When will you resume teigu training, Tatsumi?"

She only stared ahead as she spoke. Tatsumi watched a wall of ice fill the doorway from the ground up.

"How 'bout now?" he found himself saying. "I'm tired, but I'll take that hole over there."

There was really no reason to keep avoiding it, he thought to himself. However Esdeath shook her head. If he started using it suddenly after such a long hiatus it would probably kill him, she said.

"We'll condition your body first" she continued. "After a week of that you'll be able to create icicles large enough to kill somebody again, like you used to do when you first retrieved Scar."

He reached next to his leg, pulling out the gun Stylish had given him. It shined obnoxiously in the cold daylight, creating a small, shaking bright square on the ceiling. He was going to give this thing to Wave.

Than Wave died.

 _You're so useless, you know that?_

He put it back in it's holster, the front sight getting trapped in the black leather. He pushed it again and the pistol slid into place. Useless? No, not anymore. He wasn't going to let himself be that way anymore, he was finally going to take what was given to him and protect his friends and comrades. No one else was going to suffer because of his inability to act.

"Regret is one of the worst things in the world, isn't it?" he asked.

Esdeath flicked her gaze to him, face stern.

"Yes. Yes it is."

Outside Tatsumi though he saw wafts of smoke. Just out of sight from the window and holes was a large fire.

"What's cookin outside?"

He thought he heard Esdeath chuckle quietly.

"Horse. Ever had aged horse meat?"

Tatsumi blinked at her. Disappointed, Esdeath shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"We found some dead horses. Have some horse lovers among the ranks, so..."

She waved her hand in annoyance.

"We burned them."

Several hours later

Run's lips were placed on the wooden mug. Briefly glancing toward the cold tea bag at the bottom, he put the mug back onto the nightstand beside him. This morning he learned the soldier with him was called Anita.

"Did you often yell at your students back then?" she asked, breasts leaning to the side as she pressed her shoulder to the bed's backrest. "You know, 'cause you said you were a teacher and all."

The mug was empty, he remembered. It had been for a while. He shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid I was never good at discipline. My assistant took care of that for me, thankfully."

She flicked away a bit of dirt beneath her; the sleeping bag she laid out on the empty bed frame before retained the debris from a past encampment.

"Really?" she half exclaimed. "All my teachers yelled at me for everything!"

"Probably because you rebelled against everything they said" he chuckled.

"Didn't like any of 'em. But if you taught me back then...I would've done anything for that A, haha!"

She slapped her knee under the thick blankets Run snuck in from one of the carriages. In some rooms nearby, four soldiers shivered in their sleeping bags.

Run shifted his gaze away from her and to the left wall, next to the door. An empty picture frame was set on it firmly, reminding him of some abstract piece that consisted of the frame and nothing else. He wondered what it would have held if there was a picture.

To his right there were two metallic snaps, each one punctuated by a brief orange glow. He looked and noticed Anita lighting a cigarette. She took a draw, exhaled and noticed his stare.

"Wanna hit?"

"No, thanks."

She studied the wall ahead. With the dark azul of winter night and the brief pause of the blizzard's wind outside, Anita suddenly seemed older than she was. She inhaled, the rising dim glow revealing a freckle under the corner of her left eye. Run suppressed an impulse to pull her shoulder-length raven-purple hair and violate her mouth with his tongue. Suddenly the spring in her form returned and she blew out the slowly rising smoke.

"Ever fucked while stoned?"

 _So it's not a cigarette._

"No, afraid not."

"Wanna try it? I'm sure we both wanna have another go."

The energy in her face made him nod his head. Something rose from his mouth, and he found himself saying yes.

"Cool! Here, take a hit."

He did, fighting the urge to cough. It was the first time he had ever smoked, but he didn't want her to know that. He raised his hand, the other one handing back the joint.

"Hold on, I just remembered something the General wanted me to do" he informed. "Give me ten minutes; I'll be back."

Anita frowned, and he felt his heart sank.

"Oh? Fine, I've got plenty more. Just be back before I smoke all of it, you know?"

"Of course" he replied, rising out the bed. He slid on his underwear and loose white pants. When he was fully dressed with his dagger strapped to his chest, he turned back toward her.

"Nice ass" she remarked.

"Nice tits."

She chuckled, sliding from the covers and crawling toward him on all fours, the joint between her middle and index fingers. The frame creaked with every movement below. When she was close enough she flicked his nose.

"Bad teacher" she purred, "you shouldn't encourage my bad behavior, you know."

Even in the dark he could see her smirk underneath those chestnut-black eyes. He laughed.

"I'll be back."

"Come soon."

When he shut the door behind him, he thought he heard her say "haha, get it?"

Now he had to find Esdeath's wine. He knew spending a few nights at a hotel, though abandoned, would serve her as a good excuse to drink as much of the stuff as possible. He briefly wondered if Tatsumi had ever been drunk before.

There were other members of the convoy wandering around, exploring their new campground. From the conversations he overheard as he passed by, the general consensus was that they were happy to be out of the storm. A few remembered to salute the Jaeger, while the others who didn't didn't seem to care. He didn't mind; even having a powerful teigu like Mastema didn't make him feel superior to anyone.

On the balcony overlooking the formerly snowed-in lobby someone had lit two lanterns. Other than Anita's lighter, they were the first lights he'd seen since it had gotten dark. It seemed that whoever was in charge of lighting the rest of them just didn't feel like it or forgot.

He remembered the blizzard outside and realized the wind had been rather quiet tonight. Instead of it's usual howl it blew with a breath-like drone. It was a relief, the constant wail from before probably would have driven some people mad.

He descended the old, rickety ladder, reminding himself silently to ask Stylish for a replacement. While he didn't think there were any spare ladders in Team Stylish's carriage, there must have been materials to build a new one in there.

Behind the frosted block of wood that must have been the front desk was a door. A few small icicles hung over it, what was left of the larger ones shattered on the splintered wood floor. Something about the way they lay, scattered like debris, made him think of the carcasses burnt to a crisp outside. One had been near the door while the other was on the left side of the lobby, ahead of the front desk. Their hollowed faces were mummified by the frozen mountain weather. The eyeless gazes betrayed what happened when you tread where you shouldn't go...

He killed that thought; now was not the time to think about that. And why did he just have a sense of trespassing? Opening the door, he looked down into the merciless black of the cellar stairs. He would need some light for this. Run went and climbed back up the ladder, snatched one of the lanterns, and climbed down. He reached the cellar door, and not giving himself any time to think, forced himself down the cold, stone stairs, the light swaying as his hand moved.

When one performs as repetitive a task as walking down stairs, it is inevitable that their mind will wander. Run's mind did, thinking about the blizzard, summer, and the dry sizzle of Lambrusco. He wanted to return to Anita's warmth badly.

 _His little brother was what he used to call a vegetable. At fourteen Roc didn't get out of bed until forced to, preferring to sleep the day away. Roc was also afraid of leaving their small cottage on the outskirts of town. Eventually it got to the point where his parent's stopped fighting it, allowing Roc to skip school and sleep._

" _He'll get over it eventually if we don't push him" Run remembered them saying._

 _The doctors in town had called it depression. Some of them had relayed that it was very serious, and that Run's parents were doing the right thing by going the gentle route. There was nothing else to do, they had said. After all, you didn't hammer a shattered nail._

 _In those days Run would go days without speaking a word to his brother; he spent much of his time outside at school or running errands. When he did arrive home, Roc was of course, sleeping._

 _Run hated it. Roc was just being lazy; nothing was wrong with him. If he would just get up and get the_ _ **fuck**_ _out of bed, everything would be fine._

 _Because of Roc's condition much of the chores fell to Run. Laundry, taking the dog out, and cleaning the house were added to his responsibilities. Run didn't mind at first, Roc was a strong boy; he would get better sooner or later. But one afternoon Run was folding laundry. It was Roc's blue cotton shirt. The dog began barking at the door; it needed to be taken out._

" _Hey Roc" Run called, "can you walk Pogo? I would do it, but...I'm busy here."_

 _In the other room, Roc was silent. Run looked out to see him sitting up, staring out the window. Roc was not getting. the. fuck. up._

 _It was the first and only time Run used violence on family. Run slapped him, noticing how awful Roc smelled._

" _It's like I'm taking care of an old fucking man!" he growled, hitting him some more before dragging him by his shaggy, overgrown hair. Roc struggled weakly. The dog barked more._

" _Get off me" Roc moaned angrily, pushing Run away._

 _That did it. Something snapped and Run saw red. With a crude right hook Roc's nose broke. Some blood splurted, and he was wailing. Pogo had stopped her yaps, carefully studying the fight. After some hits, Roc was lying against the red front door, covering his face and screeching. It was an ugly sound in Run's ears. It made him want to hurt him some more, so he slammed his bare foot into Roc's stomach. Roc let out a sound that was between a cry and a cough. Suddenly Run lifted him up by the armpits._

" _Get up. Get the fuck up!"_

 _Pogo's leash hung from some hooks on the wall. Run hooked it to the dog's collar and pushed the handle into Roc's chest. It fell back to the ground, blood dripping on it._

 _The door suddenly opened. Roc fell back, sending his mother staggering as the brown paper bag in her arms crackled._

" _Oh my god, oh my god, what happened to you?!" she wailed then shouted._

 _His mother's widened eyes and parched mouth made Run realize what he had done. He had lost his temper and now nothing would be the same. He took a step back, than another._

" _Run. Run! GET BACK HERE!"_

 _He had dashed toward the back door, climbing the brick wall once he was outside. Mother shouted after him as his feet landed on the concrete. Pain snapped through his feet, and he rubbed them. He realized he was barefoot, but that was okay, he'd walked their terrier barefoot before. Rancid guilt rising in his chest, he ran toward downtown, dodging pedestrians and a few stray cats._

In the cellar of the Double Swan, Run rubbed his eyes. He had reached the end of the stairs and was now in a cobblestone corridor. It was terribly cold, and his foggy breath reminded him of a ghost. The yellow lantern didn't reveal much, only the walls flanking him, two wooden beams lining the walls, and a frozen dead mouse five feet away. Beyond that was only darkness. Curious, he gently pressed his boot onto the carcass; it was hard as a rock, though he thought he felt a tiny rib crack under his weight. With nowhere else to look, he strolled ahead, searching every side door he came across. Most were empty, though some held scraps of yellowed paper and rusted weapons. A few rooms had an ominous, musty smell. He didn't stay in those very long.

 _Eventually his sweating, blackened feet carried him to one of the town's many fruit markets. The owner eyed him suspiciously, but Run walked past. He must have been several blocks away from Roc and mother now._

 _In a ditch next to the road was a hole. Less people were around, so Run decided to have a little adventure of his own. Bored, frustrated, and afraid to return home, he crawled into the sewer. He had no money to spend the day downtown, and he was definitely not going to sit around and wait for nightfall to sneak back home._

 _Surprisingly, the drainage pipe didn't smell any different than the world outside. From what he could still see from the remaining sunlight, the bugs were much larger down here than in the streets. The crickets lay in between the creases and seams where parts of the tunnel joined, sleepily watching him._

 _After his knees started to hurt from crawling the tunnel opened into a wider passage. It was awfully dark, but white sunlight glided through a metal grating ahead. Heart pounding in excitement, he hopped from the tunnel's end onto a platform. The faint sunlight glimmered off stagnant water to his left._

" _I did it" he muttered, "I'm in the sewer."_

 _Run didn't know anyone else who had done this. It made him feel special._

 _Somewhere across the canal water dripped. He continued walking, noticing for the first time the distinct sewer stench. The pipe had been dry, but now that he was next to the water, his nose was in the thick of it. He tried not to breath through his mouth. After twenty seconds of walking, he reached the sunlight. Black moss hung from the grating above, and he heard the metal clink of horseshoes on asphalt and the soft drone of conversation. Something lightened in his heart; the noise subliminally gave him a feeling of bravery, that no matter how long he stayed in the dark stench of this place there was always the sun and sky above to look forward to. Nothing could take away the world outside, nothing could destroy him, not even his brother's depression could stop him if he put his mind to something-_

 _A small black mass lay in front of his feet, just out of reach of the sunlight. He remembered he was barefoot, and stepping on anything sharp down here would result in a horrible infection._

 _Carefully kneeling down, suddenly wary of where his feet landed, he scrutinized the shape. It didn't bring any new smells, so it hadn't been dead long. The tail and gracefully twisted legs told him it was a cat. Dark blood seeped from the head, and he realized it had no ears._

 _There was a long dry groan behind him. Nearly jumping, he turned to see a haggard woman looking cruelly down on him from a wrinkled nose. Her clothes were dripping and ragged._

" _What are you wearing, boy?" she rasps._

" _I-I'm sorry. I'll leave-"_

" _No."_

 _A filthy, knotted hand shot forth to grip his collar, pulling him with surprising strength. Other than his head leaning back, Run's body refused to move. With her head closer to his, he notices two cat ears stitched to her face, one for each cheek. Dried blood spotted the area around the black cat ears. She groaned again, and he realized the sound is her imitation of a purr. Her other hand tugged at his shirt harshly._

" _Kurrr_. _You shouldn't be wearing such filthy clothes boy, kurrrrr..."_

 _Her breath and body smelled awful, as if the stink from the water was magnified around her. Mottled hand gripping the back of his neck, she made him look into the canal below. A dozen dark shapes floated like masses of hair in a sink. They were more cats. Run failed to suppress the urge to vomit, but found himself dry heaving into the dark water._

" _Kurrr...kurrrrr. Why do I wear them?" she said, watching him gag. "I'm a cat, see. And you know what cats do?"_

 _With her hand on his neck and the water below him, he couldn't do a thing to escape. His stomach quickly settled, as if it wanted to run to. Wide-eyed, he curled his eyeballs to look at her. The cat grinned, several teeth missing._

" _They eat."_

 _She brought him back to her and chomped on his left shoulder. Run screamed, punching her forehead._

" _Get off!" he shouted, ignoring the pain in his knuckles. "Get off!"_

 _Warmth trickled down his arm before he landed a successful hit on her nose. Screeching, she let go. Briefly he was reminded of Soc as he dashed toward the tunnel._

" _You look delicious!" she called after him, voice getting closer. "Like a rat! Like a damned rat!"_

 _Something slammed into his back, before the concrete smashed into his sternum. Run gasped, tasting blood. He was hit several times in the back of the neck as he tried to crawl ahead. As he held the hurt spot, the woman turned him over, grinning. Her smell seemed to be everywhere. Pressure tightened around his neck as her other hand fiddled with his belt._

" _No! Stop!" he shouted. His voice bounced throughout the damp brick walls._

" _Take it like a man, rat!"_

 _She used her waist to stop his kicking legs. When the belt released, she growled a low purr. A new stench filled his nostrils. It smelled of fish._

" _Get-get off!"_

 _He hurled a fist upward, not knowing where it would land. Something met his knuckles and he heard a snap. The weight on top left, and he scrambled to his feet. He continued dashing for the tunnel, and when his shaking hands finally reached it, he lifted himself inside, breath pounding against the concrete._

" _Fucking rat!" she shouted. "I'm a cat! A feline! I play with my food!"_

 _Run crawled, the rough tunnel grinding against his knees. It wasn't five seconds before he heard her again, her groans getting closer._

" _Kurr...kurrrr..."_

 _Run didn't dare look back. He focused on the circle of light ahead, getting closer. Dirt and debris had collected in the crevices of his hands and nails. His knees left light splotches of blood on the tunnel's bottom. However, he didn't pay them any heed._

" _Kurr...kurr..."_

 _The cat was getting closer. Something about her purrs seemed more shaken, and violent. Quickly they became gasps of anger._

" _Kurr! Kurr! Fuckin' rat! Kurr!"_

 _Just a little closer..._

" _KURR! KURRR!"_

 _Suddenly the light enveloped him, the spring air gliding through his body. Run had made it. He ran to the first person he saw, getting to his knees and hugging the person's leg, sobbing. His tears and snot stained the man's grey pant leg._

" _Help me! Help me, she's there! She's in there!"_

 _The man put his hand on Run's shoulder, genuinely concerned._

" _What happened? You okay?"_

 _Run looked back at the tunnel. It was silent and empty._

" _She...she was right there..."_

 _The sense of protection he had faded when he was shoved away._

" _Brat! You stained my pants!"_

" _You hafta help me!"_

" _Shaddup! Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? Get back to school, self-harming freak!"_

 _The man glared at him than walked away. Still sniffling, Run got to his feet. His knees oozed red from where they were scratched, and his left shoulder was covered in blood. The cat-woman's bite mark would leave a scar for a long time._

As he stalked deeper into the cellar the wind above grew in intensity. Even this deep underground he could hear it. Strangely, it also made the support beams creak. Wiping his running nose on the back of his hand, he pushed open the ninth door, which was missing a handle. It moved back silently, before suddenly collapsing from the hinges. Run let out a yelp in surprise before covering his mouth embarrassedly. He shoved the door off his shoulder, letting it lean against the entrance. When he was sure it wouldn't fall, he began investigating the room.

There was nothing but cobble walls and the flat stone floor. Sighing in disappointment he wondered if the cellar really was empty. Outside the wind groaned. Far behind him a wooden support beam creaked.

When he reached the last and tenth door, the corridor had stopped. It was a dead end. Run reached out and turned the squeaking handle, letting the door hinges screech as he pushed. In the dim lantern light a shadow danced to his left. To his relief, they were kegs. Ahead of him was a multitude of dark barrels stacked atop each other. Inspecting one of the kegs through a small hatch, he found it smelled of fruit. The aroma was crisp, dry, and lively- red wine. Relief washed over him. Now he could get the hell out and get back to Anita.

He turned around, the wind groaning some more. As he paced toward the stairs, he rubbed his nose again, this time with the inside of his shirt. Ahead there was more creaking, which puzzled him. There was no way the wind was able to affect the wooden beams so far underground. He wondered if there was some hidden tunnel that led to the surface, which channeled the wind down to the cellar. That would explain the long, groaning noise.

 _It sounds almost like a cat..._

Suddenly he felt a million fingers caress his skin. Goosebumps shot through his body, and he let out a small gasp. He would not think about her, not now. He would never think about her.

The creaking grew more prominent, almost as if something was swinging from a rusting monkey bar. He noticed the door next to him and wondered which one it was, the fifth one or the sixth.

The wind became unbearable. Now he wanted to run toward the stairs, it didn't feel safe. Plus, the hall was too narrow for his wings to be any use. However, the rational and most listened to part of his mind told him not to, as if out of pride.

 _What are you, a baby? You checked every room, there's nothing but trash and wine. If you run, you show that you're afraid, that you're nothing but a damned_ _ **rat.**_

"SHUT UP!"

He raced through the cellar, dagger drawn in his free hand. As he ran, the way ahead fluctuated from light to dark from the way his arm moved. His fear grew and he tried to keep his lantern hand as still as possible. The wind groaned.

He took the stairs three at a time, making a mad dash for the soft blue of midnight ahead. Now that he was out of the cellar, the creaking was gone, but the wind continued it's noise. Panting like a wild animal, he could have sworn he heard more than just his footsteps. There seemed to be another pair of feet following him, out of sync with his footfalls just enough so that he could barely hear it. The wind purred.

"GO AWAY!"

The blue rectangular doorway was only a dozen steps away now. If he kept going, he might be able to shut the door before anything followed him out.

 _Hurry up hurry up hurry up-_

The second his boots met the flat surface he shoved the door into it's frame, holding his mass against it. He gasped for air, looking around the lobby for anything to block the door with. There was an old chair next to the front desk; he grabbed it without moving too far from the door and set it against it. He paced to the desk and tried to push it towards the door, but stopped.

The door was silent. It didn't swing open, break, bump against the hinges, or anything else. It was still as a mouse.

Run genuinely smiled, lying face first onto the desk. He began giggling like an idiot, wiping the trail of snot flowing from his nose that he had ignored. Of course there was nothing, he thought to himself. Everything was just fine; a-okay.

"Need some help?"

Run jumped from the table, looking up toward the voice. It was Kurome.

"What?" he replied.

"I said, do you need help."

He scratched the back of his head.

"N-no...I'm done, thank you. Just...remembered something funny, that's all!"

The girl nodded her head nonchalantly, tapping her finger against the balcony railing.

"Good. Just checking."

She turned without another word, heading down a hallway to her left. Run climbed the ladder up and walked toward the opposite direction, thinking about what to say to Anita about the wait. Outside the wind grew silent.


	18. Bad Trip

A punch shot from the left. Seyru blocked it with her forearm, immediately responding with a right hook to Kurome's head. The mass of dark hair ducked below Seyru's vision and she swerved just in time away from an uppercut. Because her body was already beginning the motion, she continued to spin herself around, hoping to land a spinning hook kick.

Her raised left leg was grabbed, her opponent's bosom pressed against it. Not letting go, Kurome forced her to the wooden floor. With a resounding slap, Seyru slammed her hand to the floor, keeping her head raised and tilted away from the fall. Something pressed to her neck, and she sighed. Kurome's body was pressed against her leg, wooden training dagger on her neck.

"I give up, you win" she stated.

Kurome raised herself, sliding the wooden blade beneath her belt. She helped Seyru up, who grinned.

"I can never beat you, can I?"

"Hrm. I'm getting breakfast" replied Kurome, turning toward the ladder. They were in the lobby, it's cold made bearable by their sweat.

"Who's turn was it today?" Seyru asked, wiping her forehead. They had trained pretty hard today.

"Mine" Kurome answered, pausing at the foot of the ladder, gray morning light dancing in her dark eyes. "But I paid Bols to do it."

"Aww, shucks. Everyone _loves_ your cooking, Kurome!"

"Shut up."

Seyru laughed, watching her ascend the steps. Kurome's long skirt swayed quickly with her movements.

She thought about finding a way out without breaking the ice Esdeath had created. If she made it out, she would be able to dive into the storm outside and relieve herself of the sweat. When she realized how stupid this idea was, she laughed to herself and turned toward her room. Besides, the snow now covered the first floor windows, and she didn't feel like getting on the ladder yet.

She pushed open the door to 102 and found Koro lying on the floor. His head was up, unassumingly looking to her. His stubby tail wagged gently, and she bent over to scratch the sides of his face.

"Hi, Koroo..." she crooned.

It was because of the dog that she couldn't get a room on the floor above. Since he followed her everywhere, it would be hard to remember to carry him every time she climbed the ladder. Because of this, it seemed she had the entire first floor to herself. After all, people usually obtained the rooms in the higher floors in places like this, it was only natural. Most of the time when someone roomed up on the first floor it was out of a lack of the necessary funds for another floor, and this time no one was paying for anything.

 _They hate you_.

Koro sniffed at her slowly, as if in mocking. His stare became serious.

 _They don't like you, Seyru. They avoid you._

She patted his head, shaking her own.

"No, Koro. They don't hate me."

She regretted how weak her voice sounded.

 _They mock you. They even do so when you speak to them._

"No, Koro...they're my comrades...they-"

 _They're only with you because they have to be. If it weren't for our fighting skills, they'd have abandoned you long ago._

"But Esdeath...she's like a mentor to me. Just like Stylish...and Tank."

Something heavy tingled under her shut eyelids. Koro got to his feet and leaned against her.

 _What about Kurome? I can see the annoyance, even on her placid face when she speaks to you. And Tatsumi...he's the same way..._

Warmth streamed down her cheeks. She rubbed it away.

"St-stop it. I don't like it when you do that, Koro."

 _Face it, Seyru. They don't like you. They just don't._

The voice faded away, but something inside her still stung. It was rare for Koro to speak to her, but everytime he did, it was always something she didn't want to hear.

She stood up and blew her nose on a spare handkerchief she was given by Stylish earlier. Raising herself, she gently slapped her cheeks with both hands.

"C'mon, Seyru. You've got this. Be strong, like Tank. Like Esdeath."

Her heart rose at the returning strength in her voice. Looking ahead of her toward the window she noticed her knapsack.

She had not finished unpacking yet.

Reminding herself to do it later, she reached in and assembled a change of clothes.

Earlier Kurome told her about the bathhouse a soldier found last night. River had to break up a small party there, which explained the noise that awoke Seyru in the middle of the night. Apparently, the round wooden door at the end of the hall her room was in led to the hotel's baths.

Seyru sniffed herself and cringed. After gathering her change of clothes and a towel, she strode out the room and to the baths.

...

Tatsumi wished he hadn't made eye contact with Stylish as he walked past. If he hadn't, they wouldn't be discussing doing another experiment. After the first experiment he was compensated with some money for his trouble, along with the promise of a free supply of the sense-heightening drug. However, he was still reluctant to follow through with another experiment. The possibility of altering his body and mind for Stylish's interests almost seemed stupid.

"You remember what happened that night? Regarding the whole getting stabbed by Akame and not dying thing, I mean."

Tatsumi and Stylish stood in the second-floor hallway, the doctor fingering a pocket watch in his coat and Tatsumi leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Tatsumi was bored; there was nothing to do but listen to the howling wind outside. He sniffed, expecting the aroma of Bol's cooking, only to find the dense smell of smoke from Stylish.

"I remember a lot of things" he responded indifferently. "Why?"

Stylish smiled, his left hand still moving in his pocket.

"Well...I find you're teigu interesting; I've told you before. I know that Scar kept Murasame's poison from destroying you, and I want to know how."

Lifting his left hand and reaching into his chest pocket, he pulled out a small, transparent pill. Inside was some white powder.

"I have an idea that Scar not only gives you ice powers, but also gives you immunity to poison" he continued. "And from our first experiment, I could tell from your lack of a hangover that the teigu may have protected you from the toxicities that plant had in high amounts."

He handed it to Tatsumi, who studied it in his palm.

"...though the sudden injection of such a high amount did knock you out, I remember" Stylish continued.

Despite Tatsumi's reluctance, he was aware that he knew almost nothing about his own teigu. How was he to prevent another "Wave" from happening without any good knowledge of how his teigu worked? He almost wished Esdeath stuck him with a simpler teigu, like that fancy bow he saw in the Palace's armory. Bows just shot arrows and could sometimes be used in melee combat. Scar gave ice powers, healed it's user sometimes, and said evil things in the user's head. A weapon like that would be too much for most people to handle, and Tatsumi had a hard time wrapping his head around it.

"Well? Up for it, ice demon?" prodded Stylish, a small smirk on his face.

A reluctant smile perked on Tatsumi's. He was feeling curious.

"What the hell, why not. Let's go ahead with it.

The doctor's smirk turned into a grin.

"Excellent. Now, where I was before I came back to the Capitol, the locals called a lot of their plants _phool_. Say it with me if you want to, _phool."_

A pang of annoyance shot through Tatsumi's spine.

"Just get on with it."

"Fine, okay. So, to distinguish a _phool,_ they'd give a color to describe it. The plant you ingested before was called _lal phool,_ meaning red flower."

He held up the pill again between his thumb and pointer finger.

"This here concoction is _peela phool,_ or yellow flower."

"'Cause the flower's yellow, right?"

"Interestingly, the plant isn't even a flower, nor a plant, they just call it that. It's actually a fungi. For some reason, those people didn't seem to have a word for mushroom, it's like they just _knew_ when you meant mushroom and not flower."

"What'll this 'peelafull' do to me?"

"Nothing, I think. It's a highly potent, though not lethal, toxin. I suggest taking it if you have nothing to do for a while, just in case you end up with crippling diarrhea."

The pill was handed to Tatsumi, who felt a slight injection of worry ooze into his stomach. The boy quickly shrugged it off.

"Risk in everything" he sighed, before turning to his own room. "See you later."

"I will. Begin the experiment at your own leisure."

Tatsumi nodded, smiling politely. Than he faced ahead and strode to room 211, to a waiting Esdeath.

...

Seyru had no idea why the bath was so warm.

She was sitting in the dark, bubbling water of the bathhouse underneath the hotel. If she had heard correctly, the hotel was abandoned three years ago due to unknown reasons, so how could the baths still work? She had heard of geothermal pools, which were naturally heated by the earth, but this part of the Empire wasn't volcanic. The closest volcano in the Shuang Range was supposedly dormant, which ruled out the geothermal possibility.

She guessed someone had used the water recently and left it at that; the warmth enveloping her body felt too good to think.

Seyru rested the back of her head against the circular pool's edge and sighed, her eyes peacefully shut. It was so dark she could barely see, and she thought about lighting the lanterns scattered about by the soldiers from last night. Than she found that she didn't really mind the dark; Kuro's words from before had put a damper on her mood and there was something harmonious about being in the dark water after his outburst. It was like the world around her was reflecting the dense feeling in her chest, and it felt good.

The underground bathhouse wasn't too large; the pool was about the size of a small garden. Outside, their roughness contrasting the comfortable smoothness of the pool, black stone walls surrounded her. Wet from vapor, they were set almost stoically, as if to protect her from the gray cavernous ceiling above. Small stalactites had formed from years of condensation, and made Seyru feel like she was in a cave.

She raised her head, blood rushing into it. Her vision went dark before lightening again, than she found her eyes had fully adjusted to the dark. At the far end of the bathhouse was a doorless opening that was even darker than the walls. She stared at it, almost transfixed. It was the only thing among the featureless black walls to stare at. The opening most likely led to another room, where one could find whatever heated the bath.

Her bare shoulders had gotten cold, so she descended further into the water, letting it mask the bottom of her face. She lazily blew a swarm of bubbles.

Than she felt it.

A slight fluctuation in the water.

She thought she imagined it, but it came again, stronger. Than again. Slight changes in pressure brushed against her legs, and goosebumps rippled across her body.

Something was moving in front of her, invisible below the water. Seyru quickly turned and climbed out, her vision briefly going dark again. Almost stumbling from the rush of blood to the head, she grabbed her towel and change of clothes from the stone floor in front of the wall. To her left was the exit, only a few strides away.

In seconds she reached the old wooden door. A hand gripping the green copper knob, she twisted. The doorknob gave reluctantly, it's metal sliding roughly against the door. Seyru pulled, but the door didn't open. She pulled again, and it only nudged slightly.

There was a splash behind her, and the sound of wet limbs moving across stone.

Seyru dropped her belongings and turned, ready to use her metal arms to full effect.

"I have trouble with that door too" sighed a voice emphatically.

Arms raised in a fighting stance, Seyru blinked. The half-naked young man in front of her was very pale, and had long, curly hair made dark by the lack of light. Suddenly he turned around, hopping back in the water.

"Why the hell're you naked?" he questioned cooly. "This isn't your own private pool, you know."

Seyru realized what was going on. It was so dark, she didn't notice someone else was with her until they started swimming nearby. It didn't seem he had noticed her, either.

"Who are you?" she asked, not taking her eyes off his back. She stalked toward her towel and wrapped it around herself.

The man rested his back where Seyru had just moments ago. He spread his arms out against the pool's edge and looked to the ceiling.

"Trooma at your service" he proclaimed. "One of Stylish's cronies, don't you know."

She could almost hear the amused grin in his voice.

"Sorry? I didn't get your name."

Trooma sighed, and the smile left his words.

" _Trooma_. Tee-are-oh-oh-em-ay! It's not as weird a name as everybody thinks!"

"Just didn't hear you, I didn't mean anything by it" she replied, troubled by his sudden change in mood, "I'm Seryu. Seryu Ubiquitous."

The smile returned to Trooma's voice.

"Seryu... _Ubiquitous?_ Were your parents on drugs or something? No wait, I know. They wanted your name to have some kind of _meaning_ or some shit, right? Like those people who try too hard to be unique, right? I fuckin' _hate_ those people!"

Seyru's eyebrows raised; while a sense of relief had come over her when she heard he was with Stylish, there was still something off about him.

"It's a last name" she stated. "Nothing anyone can do about their last name."

Even though his back was to her, she could easily imagine the contorted expressions on his face. The body language in his shoulders and the way he waved his arms conveyed a lot. His head tilted every time he snorted in disbelief. However, all energy suddenly left his body. He resembled a balloon that had withered after a party.

"Sorry" he sighed. For some reason, the apology seemed genuine. "Got ahead of myself. You dressed yet, Ubiquitous?"

"Yes. Are you leaving anytime soon?"

"No. Are you?"

"Nope. I was hoping you'd leave first."

There was a moment of silence. Water dripped from one of the taller stalactites.

"Than we're in a bind, then" remarked Trooma. "Guess we both prefer bathing alone."

Seyru didn't answer, repealing her decision and opting to leave. She grabbed her things and pulled at the door. It didn't budge, and she realized her foot was in the way. That may have been why it didn't open earlier, either. Mentally chastising herself for being so stupid, she walked out.

...

"Have you been doing your homework?"

Tatsumi nodded, holding up his weapon's magazine. The hollow space inside was filled with ice.

"Done and done" he answered.

Esdeath nodded sternly.

"Good. Let's find a way out of here to train."

"How'll we do that?"

She pointed to the room's window behind her. Snow violently blew outside, and the wind groaned.

"Destroy it. In any way you see fit."

Esdeath moved away as he raised the pistol in his left hand. He pointed it carefully toward the small white rectangle and pulled the trigger. The loud clank of the mechanism sounded, loudened by the small room. To his dismay, the glass didn't shatter. Wind whistled through the hole in the now cracked window before Tatsumi decisively shattered it with his boot. Sliding the debris away from the windowsill with the pistol than holstering it, he climbed out.

Legs dangling out with hands gripping the ledge, he looked around. The wind had neither cold nor warmth, as if a million people were blowing at him. It was still strong enough to knock him over, so he kept his grip tight. Besides the muddy brick of the hotel, all he saw around him was white and gray. Looking down, he couldn't even see the ground.

"Jump down!" Esdeath shouted. "The snow's really high up!"

Squinting, he thought he could see pillowy dunes of snow below him. Before he could decide he was only imagining them, he let go, kicking the wall away with his feet. He unwittingly pencil-dived into the snow, feeling it reach up to his chest. His feet kicked and he sunk even further, up to his chin. He thought he heard Esdeath laugh before she shouted something. He didn't hear it.

Moving his limbs, he slowly began a crude swim through the snow. Some of it got in his sleeves and below his neck, but he payed it no mind.

Suddenly a weight slammed into him from above, shooting him deeper into the snow. He got a mouthful, and his eyes watered. Spitting it out, he yelled. The wind was louder, so he yelled again.

"What the hell did'ya do that for?!"

Her chuckle rang in his ears, much to his annoyance.

"I loove you..."

"Shut up! Get off me!"

"Why so pushy?"

Twisting to escape, he used his left hand to try to shove her. The icy snow grinding against his clenched cheek, the hand grasped something soft and supple. He could hear Esdeath praise him with an exaggerated moan.

Something dark and lecherous rose in his chest.

He looked to her innocently over the right shoulder and continued the movement, pushing quickly as he gave a sadistic squeeze. Esdeath slapped his face hard, making him spit to his left. Quickly she turned him over, sending them both even deeper into the snow. It was getting dark now, as their little tunnel had gotten deep. Almost frantically, Tatsumi placed a hand between her cleavage and tore it through the buttons of her uniform. Before the sight of her revealed body would reward him, she slipped her hands underneath his shirt.

"There's too much...snow..." grunted Tatsumi between lustful breaths. "Can't move..."

A sharp crack sounded over the wind's scream, and Esdeath's tongue slid over his bare chest. He brought her face to his and pressed his lips to hers, her tongue wrestling his. As she moved to pull away, he grazed his teeth against her lower lip with a smile.

"Fuck, Tatsumi..."

They looked at each other through the darkness, her silhouette dominating against the gray light behind. Tatsumi wondered if she could even see him.

They didn't move for some moments, the only sounds the wind and their heavy breathing. Suddenly they both broke into laughter.

"That really escalated, didn't it?" Esdeath said, still laughing.

Tatsumi smiled, placing his hands on her waist and moving them up slowly, slipping them under her unbuttoned uniform. When he couldn't see her, she was violently curvaceous.

"I thought we were training" he teased, hands reaching behind her chest. His fingertips played with the remaining cloth he wanted removed.

Suddenly a finger tapped his lips. He felt her breath warm his ear as she leaned in.

"My bra" she whispered. "Tear it. That is your training."

His member rose slightly. For some seconds he hesitated.

"I'll give it a go" he whispered back.

His right pointer finger slid between her shoulder blades, relishing her smooth, satiny skin. Eyes shut, he imagined a small blade. He thought about it's circular tang underneath the bone closest to the knuckle, and the short, curved edge, sharpened on both sides. He spread out his fingers so his middle finger wouldn't get cut. Like a cherry on top, he finished the image with a dainty, pointed tip, protruding from the right side of the finger.

Something pinched along the finger's side. Bending his fingers to the shape of a gun, he slipped the blade where the bra's fabric was thickest. In a quick, almost surgical sawing motion, her brassiere was severed. The skin of Esdeath's chest shivered at the warmth of his small sigh of victory.

Almost instinctively Esdeath reached a finger into Tatsumi's mouth, forcing his head back slightly. Something kept her from gripping his throat, so she settled for this. He sucked for a moment, making her sigh in pleasure.

"Good, Tatsumi" she praised as she removed the finger.

Caressing her waist with his palm, Tatsumi moved the knife hand across her back, toward the strap on her left shoulder.

As she felt him slice at her remaining straps, a feeling in her chest rose. Suddenly she wanted to laugh. She also wanted to scream in delight and pummel something's face in. A part of her wanted to see Tatsumi bleed. It was all too great, too surreal; if she didn't take him now, she didn't know what she'd do.

" _Tatsumi..._ " she growled. "I want to fuck you."

Something in Tatsumi's drive wavered; she sounded menacing.

"Are you alright?" he asked, laughing slightly.

"I want to fuck you...I wanna fuck you right now _, boy_."

Tatsumi knew he was supposed to enjoy those words, but he couldn't help but feel threatened by that low growl. He briefly wondered if there was going to be any way out of this one.

Than a pressure gripped his throat. Her sudden movement caused her bra to fall to his chest, before she crudely undid his belt with her free hand.

"Gack...Esdeath...uck-" he choked.

Sharp crumbs of snow fell onto the both of them, some of it getting on his now exposed cock. Her hand let go of his neck and he gasped for air. Raising herself slightly to take off her skirt and underwear, her head grazed against the wall of the tunnel. More flecks of snow crumbled down, most of them getting on his face as he recuperated. After stimulating herself a little, she positioned herself on his member and let her body swallow it. Raising and lowering herself a few more times, she soon had him inside her. As her walls closed around him, she grabbed his neck again, not letting him recover.

She rocked herself atop of him, ignoring her own pain. Something in her mind wouldn't let her feel it.

"You won't run away" she growled. "All mine. All mine all mine all _mine_."

He wrapped a hand around her wrist to tell her to stop; he was having trouble breathing and her movements were pushing his neck into the hardening snow below.

"You won't run. You can't run. You _never_ will."

"Ick...get...off!"

With her spare hand she pleasured her clit as gently her haste would allow. The wind and her own throaty groans filled her ears, not hearing Tatsumi's struggling voice grunting for her to stop.

Suddenly, adding to his grip on her arm, she felt his shaking touch loosen her pinkie. One hand on her forearm and the other on her pinkie, Tatsumi gradually pushed forward on her finger, threatening to break it.

Reflexively she pulled her hand back, tearing it from his hands. The hand slammed into the snow next to his head, making the ground around them shake and send bits of snow flying around them. Tatsumi began to gasp for air before she bellowed, almost like an animal.

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Tatsumi massaged the throbbing on the sides of his neck as he frantically tried to get more air in his body. Something was extremely off about her. Even in the dark, he couldn't shake the image in his mind of her face contorted and hot in fury. Her hair must have dangled barbarically around the sides of her head.

This time her hands grabbed his shoulders, holding both of them steady as she violently rode him. Every few of her grunts rose in pitch, as if in pain. In a raggedy, freshly-returned voice, Tatsumi tried to get her to stop.

"Esdeath...Esdeath!"

She was hurting him; he needed her off, quick. Their tunnel was now deep enough to reach older, harder snow, and it wasn't giving his neck a break.

Mustering as much strength as he dared, he brought his hand across her cheek. Tatsumi hoped the slap would bring her to her senses.

Esdeath's movement ceased, only to bring her fist down onto the spot she punched before.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT THE HELL UP!"

She punched some more before returning her hand to his shoulder, using the other to grasp the hair above his forehead. She continued rocking her hips as she pushed his head back as far as the snow allowed.

"Esdeath...you're hurting me!"

With a few staccato groans, Esdeath continued, starting to bounce on him. Encouraged by her sounds, and perhaps even by the pain, Tatsumi felt something warm from inside his crotch. He panicked; he didn't want her to think this was pleasuring him.

"No...Esdeath...Esdeath stop!"

He was shouting now. There was a desperation in his voice that embarrassed him.

In the dark, a grin spread across Esdeath's face. As her grip on Tatsumi's hair tightened, a chuckle soon gave way to wild laughter. She couldn't help but feel like she had succeeded in something important.

As she laughed, Tatsumi clenched his teeth. He let out something between a groan and a whimper as he came.

A wave of pleasure shot through his body from the crotch, ebbing a little at the aching in his neck.

Esdeath felt a peculiar, almost addictive sensation behind her navel. It was warm, and it was the second time she had felt it in her life. As she slowed, her laughter took on a more generic, comical sound. It sounded like a madwoman reading an onomatopoeia.

 _Hee hee hee hee..._

Esdeath slowed to a complete stop and, even though she couldn't see him, looked to where his face probably was. Her Tatsumi, her beautiful Tatsumi, had just released himself inside her. If that wasn't good enough, this wasn't the first time. He was her Tatsumi. He was her Tatsu-bunny.

She tried to recollect the immediate events that led her to this. Feeling mischievous out of nowhere, she jumped on him, sending him through many feet of snow. Than she teased him a bit, asking why he was acting so pushy. She also told him she loved him, she remembered that. Than he grabbed her breast, it was her left one, she remembered. Next, they assaulted each other with their mouths. The tunnel got deeper as they went. Than she ordered him to cut away her bra. When she felt his fingers nimbly cut it away, she got excited and-

Her mind drew a blank. She couldn't remember what happened next off the top of her head. She must have been tired, she reasoned to herself.

"I..." said Tatsumi's voice. There was an unfamiliar sharpness to it. Why did he sound so angry?

"I... _I..."_

There such raw emotion in his tone. Did something happen?

She felt clothed arms smash into her side, shoving her into the wall of the tunnel. She gave a small gasp and felt warmth leak out into her right thigh. Briefly she wondered if it would freeze there before she heard the clattering of his belt buckle. She almost chuckled; Tatsumi still hadn't put on his pants yet. There was a sound of crunching as he scrambled up the tunnel, sending small avalanches down toward her.

Gaping and dazed, Esdeath stared after him, wondering what just happened as Tatsumi's seed froze on her right thigh.

...

Hands behind his neck, Tatsumi rested his back to the wall. The carpet below felt harder than usual, and the walls creaked from the wind. Outside, as usual, came the howling.

An hour ago, he had crawled out of the tunnel outside. As he climbed, he tried to lock the belt buckle properly but quickly gave up. He had wanted to get out as quickly as possible, but the powdery snow made him feel slow and clumsy.

When he reached the exit it caved in. Wind and snow whipped around him as he swam toward the hotel in a crude breaststroke. Snow got in the flanks of his pants and torn shirt.

Hanging from the shattered second floor window ahead was a rope. Esdeath must have put it there before jumping on him. It was secured over the windowsill by an unseen hook. After climbing it and staggering into the room, Tatsumi looked out the window again, letting the wind throttle his hair.

Somewhere among the depths of the screeching wind, he thought he heard his name. The faint voice almost sounded lonely, and desperate. Tatsumi chalked it up as a trick of the wind and left it at that.

The last of the short-lived sunlight was beginning to die; outside the whitish-gray day had taken a slightly green hue; as if a thunderstorm approached. The blizzard's whirling beard of snow danced chaotically. It was going to be his second night here.

"Tatsumi! What's up?" shouted a cheerful voice over the wind.

Slowly Tatsumi looked up. The room's door was ajar, Seyru standing straight ahead. She wore a thick white coat put together by many horizontal seams. The fat, ghastly pale jacket with Seyru's small head at the tip reminded him of a maggot.

Shivering, she quickly pulled a furry hood over her head. Mittens covered her hands.

"It's gotten a lot colder; how are you sitting like that? There's a hot bath downstairs past my room, if you'd like."

Tatsumi got off the wall and moved toward her; a bath definitely sounded good. After all, he felt a little dirty.

"I'm going" he said, not looking her in the eye. "Good idea."

"Thanks! But without a towel...? Oh, whatever...wait, the window!"

Passing her, he headed to the left end of the hall toward the stairs.

Esdeath propelled herself through the hole via ice pillar. It grew upward until she was chest-level with the shattered window. She formed a small platform to bridge the gap between her and the windowsill. Giving a slight crouch and walking in, she filled the empty window frame with a pane of thick ice. When she remembered the rope, she decisively abandoned it with an annoyed wave. It was a spare room; there was no need to clean up her mess.

The room's black door was ajar. She went through it, softly closing it behind her.

"Ma'am!" saluted a soldier.

She nodded in acknowledgement as he walked by with a long candle, heading to the nearest flickering lantern.

Down the hall was the room she shared with Tatsumi. She walked for a moment, stopping when she found a familiar dark stain on the wall to her right. In front of the stain, to her left was the room.

She pushed it open, not even touching the stuck knob. The hinges creaked before she closed it behind her with an elbow..

Esdeath sighed, leaning against the door. Something awful had just happened, and she didn't know what.

The tone in Tatsumi's almost-breaking voice had stabbed her in the heart; she had never heard that before. The way he hurried out replayed in her mind, sending dark regret curling through her body.

 _You hurt him, you hurt you're baby..._

She pushed herself off the door, heading to the window. Suddenly the wind seemed to jeer at her, it's high wailing like that of a childhood bully.

"Don't fucking mock me" she found herself saying.

Outside the sky still held it's slightly green hue, the snow piling high. She was on the second floor, but the snow was almost high enough to reach the long icicles hanging above the windowpane. By tomorrow, she guessed, she wouldn't even be able to see out any hotel windows.

To her left in the small room was a large, open bedframe. Tatsumi had lain a few blankets on it the day before, but it was still uncomfortable. A sleeping bag on the floor would have been better.

She moved from the window to the mirror in front of the bed, racking her brains why Tatsumi acted the way he did. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember what happened.

The mirror wa large and used to be decorative. The glass was aged and stained, but there were no fractures anywhere on its surface. The artisan brown frame was chipped in many places, but it seemed it was supposed to resemble a bouquet of flowers. Centered at the bottom was a sculpture of a lion's head. In some other rooms where the mirrors were intact, there was a swan's head instead of a lion's.

 _You hurt him, you hurt Tatsu-bunny..._

The wind mocked her outside as she blankly stared, her mind racing. Where was Tatsumi? Would he speak to her? Was he okay?

Suddenly a tingle went up her spine.

Someone else was in the mirror with her, at the farthest end of the room. Their face and neck peered over her shoulder.

Esdeath blinked.

The pale face began to smirk.

She quickly turned, drawing her sword.

No one was there. There was no way anyone could have been there; the bed was in the way.

Though she knew it was foolish, she glanced back to the mirror. It was empty except for her and the dark bed frame behind her. And of course it was; people didn't pop into the mirror for no reason. They just didn't.

Esdeath pinched her nose; she must have been tired. After a good nap, this would all be over. Tatsumi would be back to normal, and the blizzard will end by morning. With Bol's help, they would march on toward the City of Pain and win against the rebels, like how it's supposed to be.

Lying several blankets on the floor, Esdeath unstrapped her sheath and hung her cap on the bed stand. Undressing and getting into pajamas, she got on her back and closed her eyes, keeping the mirror out of her thoughts.

...

His torn clothes in a wet pile nearby, Tatsumi sat in the warm water, his back against the edge of the bath. Another person sat at the other end, yawning. Neither had acknowledged the other as Tatsumi stripped and stepped in.

The black ceiling pointed toward him with dagger-like stalactites. Vaguely he was reminded of the way icicles rained down from house roofs in his village. However, the dominant thoughts in his mind regarded Esdeath.

He could still feel her grip on his neck. It wasn't a playful one, she had deliberately tried to choke him. At one point, he remembered, he thought he was going to die.

The more he reflected, the more he realized; something was very wrong with Esdeath. She definitely had a sadistic streak, but was still a caring woman for those that mattered to her. The Esdeath he encountered earlier was not the lover he knew.

A thought made his heart sank; _was she showing her true colors?_ What if Esdeath was nothing but the animal from earlier, who tried to deceive Tatsumi into becoming some kind of slave by playing the cute, affectionate woman?

He wasted away that thought; there was no way Esdeath would do that. She had wept when he was close to death on Mount Fake, and had professed her love for him many times. There was no way she was trying to pull something so hurtful.

Still, the idea of seeing Esdeath right now made him queasy. She was getting too domineering, and what if she lost control and tried to kill him again?

The fact remained: he had no idea why Esdeath had acted the way she did.

With an especially exaggerated yawn, the bather announced that he wanted a conversation.

"What's crackin', Tatsumi?" he said sleepily.

Tatsumi had heard this man's chipper accent before, but had never spoken to him. He wondered how he knew his name.

"Just chillin', same as everybody here" Tatsumi replied, voice dry like a scarecrow. If memory serves, this man had red hair.

"Excellent, excellent...good that we all feel comfortable here."

As he spoke, the young man's tone rose and fell in pitch, like an excited dolphin. Tatsumi lowered himself into the water, letting the warmth envelop his aching neck.

"Th' old medicine man seems to like you, don'tcha know."

There was an intrigue in the man's voice that seemed genuine. In the dark, there was no need for eye contact, yet they still looked each other in the eye.

"What d'you mean?" Tatsumi questioned.

The bather's arms crossed underwater.

"I mean that he likes what he sees in you. That's the reason people relate to each other, after all, 'cause they like what they see."

"...don't swing that way..."

The young man's dark head tilted, the smirk in his voice apparent.

"Really? Course you don't. What I mean is that you must be really interesting for Stylis' to make you a guinea pig."

"I've got a rare teigu, that's all."

"Hmm..."

Shoulders dropping a little, the man seemed to ponder something. After a few second's silence, he spoke again.

"Stylish's a wolf" he said. "Likes his meat rare, that he does. Take it from me and the others."

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. Right when he was about to tell him to go on, the bather continued.

"The girl you spoke to at the stairs? Me, Trooma? Toby? We've all got reasons for working with Stylish...and none of them are natural talent, mind you. We've all got a past. I reckon Stylish knows something about you that you don't."

Arms resting on the wall behind, Tatsumi nodded his head and shut his eyes tight, observing the spectral, dotted patterns in his eyelids. He played Trooma's words back in his mind, wondering what they meant. Did Stylish really know something that he didn't? It was an interesting idea that also sent shivers up his spine.

Trooma's tone returned to a playful, jocular state.

"Haven't left the pool in ages. When you leave, don't tell Mimi I'm here, willya? Please?"

Eyelids relaxing, Tatsumi smiled emptily.

"Yeah. Sure thing."

Tatsumi scrubbed himself with his hands and left, still drying his naked upper body with a gray towel. Ignoring a glance from a passing soldier, he made his way down the first floor hall. On a whim he opened the door to room 102 and lay on the floor, pushing his feet against the empty, rusting bed frame.

"Stylish...and a past, huh..." he muttered.

Trooma's words buzzing round his head, Tatsumi reached into his newly dry left pocket. Pulling out the transparent capsule, he popped it in his mouth.


	19. Author's Note 2

Greetings,

So it's been a while. I'm sorry I left you all hanging; I haven't updated this story since December. College and life is getting in the way but I still haven't lost the desire to finish this.

Something I've noticed about writing: you need to be _really_ bored to write something good. It's that "several days without anything important to do" kind of bored. Boredom, as you may know, stimulates the creative juices and, like what fat is to a good burger, results in a juicy story.

I tell you this because I've had a lot to do lately; that's the main reason I haven't written since last year. I've been experiencing life and doing a lot of things I've never done before. Once a week my brain would remind me: "Remember that thing you wrote? You should finish it" but I wouldn't be able to fulfill this wish. Thanks to an improved sense of organization, things have gotten less crazy for me and I'll be able to put aside the time for writing.

However, now that the hiatus is over, the things I've experienced will do nothing more but help this story grow. I'll be able to add more realism to Symbiotic Craving that will improve the immersion. Give me some time to reread the chapters and my personal notes so I remember where I was going with this story. Work on chapter 19 will begin tonight.

Thank you all for following Symbiotic Craving,

Adios.


	20. Life Is A Dream

The steel gray sky turned even grayer, until it was soon a shade of deep purple. The purple faded, to make way for a rush of dark. It was an unforgiving dark; the kind of dark that didn't care for the little hues nor the small lights most winter skies have. No moonlight penetrated the hotel, leaving any area without torchlight to be devoured by black night.

This was another night of hospitality at the Double Swan Hotel. The wind never ceased, and the snow always fell. The blizzard was unrelenting, like an overeager host who didn't want any of their guests to leave.

Rarely a freak gust of wind would invade the chimney, assaulting the fireplace in the furnace room. This would wound the fire, beating it down quickly and flinging orange specks of ash before the wind dissipated, and the fire sprung up again.

Mimi observed this phenomenon in the furnace room as her thoughts carried her to strange, dangerous places; the places that made her fists clench teeth gnash.

She sat next to Trooma in front of the fireplace, a gray standard-issue blanket tight around her. Fellow soldiers shared the heat; a pair played chess next to the doorway while a group of three chattered away. More excited bits of the conversation drifted to Mimi and Trooma as they shifted closer to the fire.

"-so you did!"

"Annie, you're scum!"

Their laughter perked Mimi's ears; she wondered what they were talking about. Lifting the blanket over herself, she put on her headset. Chirpy and quick, the soldier's voices crackled into her ears.

"I can't _believe_ you."

"That breaks so many rules, Anita!"

" _Shhh!_ "

"-sorry!"

There was a knocking on her dome. Testedly, Mimi gave Trooma a scowl, hiding most of her head in the blanket.

"What" she mouthed.

Smirking, Trooma mimicked pulling something from his ear.

She buried herself back in her cocoon, raising the sensitivity level on her right earpiece. Closing her eyes, she listened.

"...he was like a really _bad_ angel, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah! So what did his-"

"HAAAAAAAAA!"

Quickly she threw off the headset with the blanket, slapping Trooma hard in the nose. Covering her right ear, she cursed him.

"Mother _fucker_!" she spat.

Mimi curled into her knees, moaning in pain as Trooma's cackling filled the furnace room. She swore some more as she hit him a few times.

"Gonna _fucking_ kill you next time you pull that shit, I-"

A ringing began to sound, so she kept cradling her head, groaning.

It was after many painful moments when she felt well enough to curl out of her ball. Massaging her right ear she scowled to Trooma. His laughter had winded down to a staccato chuckle by now, as he tried to stop laughing so he could sip his tea. The soldiers stared in curiosity, never having seen such interaction between members of the elite forces. Trooma's laugh died completely as he blew on his beverage. Anita's group began to speak in hushed tones, their chatter quickly rising to the volume it was before as they grew comfortable again. The pair playing chess followed, their eyes returning to their board.

"You know what kind of tea this is?" Trooma asked Mimi, raising a steel mug. The mug's lid rested on his hand, it's hinge squeaking as he shuffled his bottom to get comfortable.

"Asshole tea" she grunted. "Tea for assholes."

"Perhaps" he retorted, smiling. "But officially it's called 'oolong' tea, don'tcha know."

She rolled her eyes toward the brick fireplace.

"Alright. And?"

"That's all. Just sharing some freshly-learned trivia."

Mimi stared into the fire. Trooma blinked, his smile growing forced. He was being ignored.

"The man with the flamethrower told me, he did" he continued. "All he did was take a whiff of it as we passed each other, and he said 'mmm, oolong tea. My wife's favorite.' 'So there's a name for this dirty water?' I say, and he goes 'yes, it's very good for you.' Than we had a conversation about tea right in the first floor hall. That Bols man really knows his food, he does. Did you know mugwort tea gives pleasant dreams?"

"You never shut the hell up, do you" Mimi grumbled.

"I have quiet moments, just like anybody else. I'm just not dark and broody, like you."

Mimi reached behind her and retrieved the blanket and headset. She wrapped herself with the blanket and lay down, resting her boots on Trooma's lap.

"However, there is one thing we have in common" he announced.

She met his eyes with a furtive glance.

"We've both murdered our parents" he finished, sending her a wink.

...

The ceiling was a grey, pasty white. The paint chipped in many places, leaving large islands of black wood among the sea of rotting paint.  
Tatsumi looked to the left. There was a small lantern flickering away, the light slightly purple at the flame's edges. Judging from how bright the room was, he guessed there were several lanterns lighting the room.

The floor was hard.

It pressed against his back, making the bones ache. Or was it his back pressing against the floor? Logically, it should have been the weight of his body forcing his bones onto the cold, wooden floor, so why did it feel like the opposite was happening?

A greater question was: why did any of that matter?

His mind told him to get up. If he got up, the bones in his back would stop aching, and everything would be fine and he would stop thinking about stupid things.

He got to his feet, noting how rough the floor felt under his hands. He knew the floor was rough before, but at this instant, it felt a new kind of rough. No, wrong word; the floor was _spiky_.  
Tatsumi shook his head, he was starting to think about stupid things again. Stupid, stupid things.  
 _So stupid, so worthless..._  
Something was wrong; he didn't feel right. In fact, nothing felt right. Not the ground, nor the ceiling, not even his boots felt normal. They were suddenly so heavy.  
"Upstairs, lil' sir."  
He quickly turned toward the deep, sardonic voice, and found a young man lying on the bed behind him. He had a slim, athletic build and minimal dark clothes; he only wore a black t-shirt and gray pants, which accentuated the healthy amount of black hair on his angular head. His equally black eyes peered over a small red book he was reading, a bored expression in his eyes.  
"Who are you?" asked Tatsumi.  
The young man gazed into Tatsumi's eyes for a moment, expression unchanging. Than, he gently closed the book and set it beside him. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Despite all that movement, the old bed frame didn't creak. The bored look on his face transitioned smoothly to a serious one. Making perfect eye contact, he spoke.  
"There are a lot of things...about you, humanity...that I don't understand."  
His voice was earthy and rough, contrasting with his slender build. Gingerly he crossed his legs.  
There was something wrong here. Tatsumi needed to leave.  
"I need to go" Tatsumi stated.  
The dark-haired man tilted his neck disinterestedly, a small grimace forming on his face. With a finger he made small circles in the air.

"Leave, leave, leave. Leave if you want. They always leave; they leave when they've had enough."

Wondering why he told the man he wanted to leave in the first place, he opened the door and shut it behind him. After all, it's not like he needed the guy's permission to do anything.

Ahead of him, the hall moved.

It moved soundlessly around Tatsumi, twisting and squirming slightly, as if it were alive. Every lantern was alight; balls of dim golden light shined throughout the deep blue hall. The flickering both dazzled and confused his senses in ways he couldn't even describe.

Despite the new sensations, walking was easy. In fact it seemed he was having the best posture he'd ever had. His footsteps seemed silent on the blue carpet and his boots didn't feel as heavy as they did before. In fact, he was fully energized; ready for anything. Plus, if he focused straight ahead, the hallucination had no effect on his cognition.

His legs carried him further, the lanterns passing him. Each one seemed to be a star among the dark space of the hallway, making Tatsumi think of himself as a comet shooting through space. He had read about them at his village; one local farmer had joked that they were made of ice. 

In a gray parka Stylish appeared, about to stroll past him. Tatsumi wondered how he didn't notice him until now, when he had been looking straight ahead this whole time.

They made eye contact.  
"Have you seen a ...syringe lying about, Tatsumi?"  
"How are you."  
Stylish stopped, eyebrows raised as he watched Tatsumi shuffle forward.

Suddenly someone began to scream.

Tatsumi looked to Stylish.  
"Where's it coming from?!" he questioned urgently.  
"Er-excuse me?"  
The person continued screaming, not even stopping for breath.  
"We have to help them! Do you not hear screaming?"  
"Wh-Tatsumi, what are you-"  
Memories of Wave and Sayo flooded through his mind. Drawing his sword, Tatsumi rushed to the end of the hall. No one was dying today, not on his watch. Entering the lobby, Tatsumi looked around, trying to ascertain where the screeching was coming from.  
"Tatsumi!" called Stylish's voice.  
The balcony above was empty, none of the lanterns lit. Behind him the giant ice wall that blockaded the entrance loomed. Urgently facing it, sword outstretched, he entered a fighting stance, expecting to see a fellow soldier struggling for their life.  
Nothing was there; just the deep, purple snow outside Esdeath's wall met his fierce gaze.  
"Tatsumi!" called Stylish's voice, though much closer now. "Tatsumi, do you mean the wind?"  
Still looking around, focused on the source of the noise, Tatsumi answered.  
"What the hell d'you mean? Someone needs help!"  
"Nobody's screaming, Tatsumi. That's just the wind."  
The scream continued, lowering it's ghastly pitch to a half-growl, half-screech. Whoever was making the noise had been doing so for the past minute without taking a breath.  
Slowly and embarrassedly, he sheathed the sword. His voice a frustrated growl, he expressed his confusion.  
"What the hell is going on, Stylish?"  
Eyebrows raised, the doctor gestured to himself.  
"Me?"  
The arrogant, goody-two-shoes look on his face angered Tatsumi more.  
"What the hell did you give me? This isn't what I agreed to!"  
"Hey, hey, let's not get all loud and angry. Tell me what's going on with you."  
"I'm pissed off! That pill I just took, it-I...feel weird..."  
Stylish's unsmiling, pragmatic gaze studied him, locked to Tatsumi's face. A small pang of paranoia shot through Tatsumi's spine, which left almost immediately.  
"Hmm... let's take a look" said Stylish, moving toward a lantern behind Tatsumi.  
The doctor gestured for him to follow, which he did.  
"Look into the light, please" Stylish instructed, steadying himself with a hand on Tatsumi's shoulder.  
Noticing again how purple the flame's edges were, Tatsumi stared into it, trying to ignore Stylish's studious eyes, which were so whimsical only a minute ago.  
A few moments passed, Stylish scrutinizing Tatsumi's face. Tatsumi began to take interest in the lantern; the flickering yellow slowly beginning to resemble a figure waving their hand at him.  
 _Goodbye, Tatsumi, have a nice night.  
_ He raised his hand slightly, waving back.  
 _Tatsumi...hello..._  
Now the flame was greeting him. Strange, he thought; wasn't it originally waving goodbye? What the hell did the lantern want? Was it toying with him? Was it playing with him, like a lynx, like Esdeath?  
"Tatsumi! I'm talking to you!"  
He shook in surprise, remembering Stylish was next to him.  
"Sorry, Stylish" he said sleepily. "I seem to be, well..."  
"Yes, I've figured that out" finished Stylish; "having fun, are we?"  
"Yes, yes indeed."

The doctor smirked.

"Get some good shut-eye upstairs" he instructed. "Drink as much water as you can, too. I'm sure you'll have some _nice_ dreams."

"My room...no, I can't go to my room..."

Tatsumi's tone was whimsical, as if he was talking in a pleasant sleep.

"Well, all the same, you need rest. It wouldn't be healthy for you to roam the hotel like this. Need help getting to your room?"

"No, don't need it...I think. I'll...go..."

Nodding unconvincingly and smirking, Stylish turned, continuing his way toward the end of the hall. Tatsumi guessed he was heading to the baths.

Tatsumi faced the ice wall. Strolling over to touch it , he felt the frozen surface grip his fingertips. It must have been very cold indeed; he was thankful he was immune to the chill.

In some places the ice was rough, probably because of a little inattention on Esdeath's part. Perhaps something was on her mind as she made the wall.

One of these imperfections caught his eye. It was only a few scratches in the ice, but to Tatsumi it looked like a nose. It was a small nose, with a delicate oblong shape, like an almond. Who did he know that had a nose like that?

Sayo.

Now it was all he could see. The thin lines above the nose became roughly hewn eyebrows, and the small bevels below formed a soft-curved chin. A swirl in the ice became her left eye, while a small reflection of dancing lantern light formed the right one.

There was one thing missing: her mouth.

 _Sayo had no mouth._

"Sayo...stop..."

A strong, perverted sense of terror threatened to take over. To combat it he grinned. Tears began to break into his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that...please..."

The screaming began again, but Tatsumi reminded himself it was just the wind. Sayo's right eye flickered mockingly.

 _I'm so sick, Tatsumiii..._

"I-I'm going to get your medicine."

 _Sooo sick, Tatsumiii..._

"Don't worry, Sayo. I'm helping you. Ieyasu is too."

 _Please help me, Tatsumiii...help me get out..."_

A new voice sounded. On the right side of the wall glared Ieyasu.

 _Cheater. I hate you so much._

Tatsumi fell to his knees.

 _I can't believe you'd ignore me for a woman. You know how long I've waited to see you? Two months. Than I arrive and find you avoiding me. What'd the bitch do to ya, huh? HUH?_

Tatsumi's teeth gritted.

"Shut up..."

 _But I can forgive you. All you have to do is_ **let us out** _._

Sayo cackled in agreement. Both voices began to chant.

 _Let us out. Let us out. Let us out._

"Shut the fuck up!"

 _Let us out. Let us out._

"You're not them! SHUT UP!"

Suddenly, besides the now groaning wind, there was silence. The faces in the ice were gone, replaced by the wall's misshapen scratches. He quickly turned away from it, trying to push what just happened out of his mind.

Ahead stood the ladder to the second floor. It was a wonder the thing was still standing; since it had been years since anyone had stayed in this place.

Carefully he climbed upstairs. He was suddenly wary of every creak and groan the old wooden steps made. The frozen ladder was hard, but it couldn't last long, not abandoned like this. One day, the wood will be frozen brittle, cracking under the smallest pressure. The hotel will continue it's slow decay, descending into a spiral of cold rot and dead filth. Snowfall after snowfall will accumulate above, until finally, the roof gives out and collapses onto the third floor, contents of the attic scattering among the debris. In the shape the ladder is in now, Tatsumi estimated it had two years, maybe three, tops.

"Is something wrong, Tatsumi?"

He was on the second floor, having just finished climbing. It was a short trip, yet it felt so long.

"Huh? Yeah, nothing is wrong" he replied, startled.

A dark fur hood regarded him with a curious gaze. It was Kurome, holding her sword casually in her left hand. Candlelight glittered on the black scabbard.

"Hmm...the ladder will be fine, you know" she assured.

"What?"

"The ladder. You were muttering to yourself...about the ladder's dead filth or something."

"Uh...yes. Got it..."

Something was strange about Kurome. Despite her monotone voice, she seemed to be in a better mood than before. There was a cheery, joyful energy about the way she moved, turning her weapon's sheath over and over energetically. Blaming Stylish's pill, he gingerly moved past her, planning to find a room to sleep in again.

"Tatsumi."

He stopped and acknowledged her aloud.

Lanterns had started to go out by now, giving Kurome a mysterious dark aura as she looked to him over her shoulder.

"The dead..." she said softly; "they're loud aren't they?"

He played the words over in his head. Did she really say that?

"The...dead?" he questioned, brows raised. The faces in the ice suddenly shot through his mind.

"Nothing...nevermind" she muttered.

She turned her whole body to him, looking at the floor as she took off her hood. He noticed her body shaking beneath her brown cloak. He watched her, worry growing inside him.

"Oh, Tatsumi...Tatsumi..." she muttered.

Head snapping up, she looked into his eyes. Numerous tears fell from her own, and a smile of joy spread across her visage.

"Tatsumi!" she choked. "It's Wave! He forgives me! And he'll forgive you too!"

Orange, glittering steel erupted from her sheath. The dark cloaked form charged at him, the scabbard falling to the floor.

"KUROME!"

His hands moved on their own. Sword drawn instantly, he met her blade with force. Weapons crossed, they pushed against each other's blades before he parried her katana. Backflipping away, she positioned herself for another charge. He had to get out of this quick; he wasn't sure how long he could fight while inebriated.

"What the hell're you-"

Quickly, she came again. She swung from his right, shaving a small amount of brown hair as he ducked and brought the flat of his sword sharply against her wrist.

The move worked; Yatsufusa fell from her grasp, clattering onto the floor. He held his gladius against her neck to keep her still. Kurome crossed her arms, studying Tatsumi.

"Kurome...stay still" he instructed. "We can talk about this."

Behind him he heard a door open. However, his hopes that this would deter her were dashed when, with a rosy smirk, she advanced.

Kurome took two steps forward, letting the blade slightly cut into her neck. Arms uncrossed, she brandished a syringe in her right hand. With his left, he grabbed her hand before a thumping pain shot between his legs. His grip temporarily weakened, her hand tore from his before something jabbed into his shoulder.

...

Anita awoke with a start.

Scattered images of her dream shot through her mind: a whale breaching from a pink waterfall, a cave in the clouds, and a grinning polar bear, with sharp, jagged teeth.

She quit trying to figure out what they meant when she heard shouting outside of the bedroom. Urgently she slipped from the thick blankets, the arm around her waist falling flat onto her side of the mattress. Already shivering, she fought back the cold with lounge pants and a heavy bathrobe. She gasped in surprise when she heard the sound of metal clashing.

Covering the doorknob with an undershirt from the floor, she shouldered open the decaying door.

The dying lantern on the wall ahead of her was the only one in the hall still lit, but it was bright enough for her to see the dark shapes to her left. The subdued clatter of swords ceased, before one of the dark masses fell to the floor.

"Hey!"

Her shout made the second shape retreat to the other end of the hall. She watched it turn the corner before she rushed to the figure slumped on the dirty blue carpet.

"What happened? You okay?"

The figure seemed to be on it's knees. When she kneeled next to him, she noticed he was gripping his left shoulder.

"Get Esdeath" he ordered. "Something's wrong with Kurome."

"Wrong with _who_? You know what, I'll get an NCO over here."

He only answered with a grunt. Running past several doors, she briefly looked over her shoulder.

The figure was sprawled on the ground, still as a stone.

"Shit" she cursed.

...

There was a secret River kept from most.

His left eye, the greyest one, was a fake.

There was no real story to tell about it; he was skiing down a steep hill as a young man when he had a little accident. That was it. One moment it was there, the next it was a sopping mess of violet-red. He almost wished he had lost it in battle, that would've been a more interesting story.

"Ideals, River. What do they achieve?" asked the woman at the end of the table.

He watched Esdeath tilt the pitcher over her glass, enjoying the rising sound of the water. They were alone in what was left of the dining hall. River had found her here, sitting by herself in the dark at the only table still intact. There seemed to be something on her mind, but he didn't push it. Instead, he had sat across from her, lighting the lantern on the table and offering some water from his teigu. He asked how her day was and they began to talk.

"I'd rather you answer instead of me, General."

"Nothing. Ideals do absolutely nothing. I don't know why so many can't understand that."

The man shut his eyes and calmly nodded in agreement. There was a cold insight to this woman, and he liked it.

"Why do you believe so, Madam?" he questioned, glancing to her as he sipped from a steel mug.

The general was tracing small circles on the table as they spoke. Without her knowing, they suddenly became figure eights.

"The enemy is a good example" she claimed, tilting her head in thought. "After years and years of saying this and that about justice and..."

With another hand she made air quotes.

"... _equality,_ we finally got sick of it and gave them a good slap on the wrist. That made them angry, so we gave them the paddle. Than they bit our hand, so..."

There was a pebble on the table in front of her. She flicked it away.

"...we drowned them."

"I take full responsibility for that last one, my lady."

She gasped in fake awe.

"You say that like it's a bad thing!"

"I still believe I went too far that night...I may be the reason you have so much public disapproval from other nations now."

Esdeath frowned at him, a cold stare looming over her nose.

"We'll discuss that later. But _anyway..."_

Her normal tone returned as she swirled the glass in her hand.

"Do you think the rebels' ideals are going to win them anything substantial?"

River shook his head.

"Exactly" she praised. "It's strength that wins battles. Willpower doesn't do much but create a pretty flag."

"Are you complementing the rebel's taste in flag design?"

"Yes. That flag of theirs is stunning. A red bear clawing down a lion? I wish I thought of that."

There was a shuffle outside, and the door was shoved open. A man entered, dressed in the traditional black under clothes of a soldier. He stood in attention and saluted at the doorway.

"Forgive my intrusion. Someone's been attacked in the second floor hallway."

"What?" Esdeath questioned, standing. "Lead me to them."

"Yes, madam."

She walked towards him, nodding for River to follow.

He did, finding it hard to adjust to the dark outside. The lantern from the dining hall's light left spots in his eye, making him struggle to follow Esdeath's white uniform. All he saw were a few large, green shapes, with a pair of pale shoes at the bottom of his vision. He followed Esdeath's boots through a hall and down a flight of steps, careful to keep the spots from concealing her shoes.

When the spots finally faded, the boots had stopped. He looked to Esdeath and saw her gaping in horror, hands covering her mouth. He blinked in surprise at her expression, which was so unusual for her.

The NCO spoke and brought a lantern over, revealing a dark shape beneath Esdeath. She lifted the mass in her arms, cradling it as she began to speak.

"Twenty-plus people on one floor and _no one_ knows who did this?" she growled. "You better find out very soon!"

The anger in her voice had a slight hint of cracking. He had never heard her like this before. The cold judgement she always held about her presence had completely vanished.

The NCO ran to the end of the hall, banging on every door on his way and blowing a whistle.

"Wake up! Intruder! This isn't a drill!"

River unhooked a lantern from the wall and lit it. Crouching near Esdeath, he saw Tatsumi's face and suddenly Esdeath's worry made sense. He wondered what could have happened to him.

At the same time, a grim satisfaction grew in him. The sight of Tatsumi's unconscious, stupidly gaping mouth was amusing to him. Suppressing a chuckle, River smirked.

" _Stupid boy_ " he remarked silently.

...

Kurome panted for air, the darkness of the cold cellar swallowing her. The chill made her shiver a little.

She couldn't see a thing. When she had come down here, she had to cautiously yet hurriedly feel her way in; there was quite the commotion above, and though she had lost any pursuers, there was no reason to risk discovery by lighting a lantern. When she made it to the bottom of the steps, she felt around the walls to figure out what kind if room she was in.

Wind howled, and she could hear it despite being so deep below the hotel. There was a sound of old wood groaning from the temperature, as if making a complaint. Her breaths echoed through the narrow passageway, joining the few sounds that accompanied her among the stone walls.

She waved a hand in front of her face. The dark stirred, meaning her eyes were beginning to adjust. Skillfully, she sheathed her blade, letting the thump of the hilt hitting the scabbard echo through the corridor.

At the same time, she thought she heard a footstep.

Giving her full attention to the far end of the cellar, she held her weapon like a cudgel; combat in such a narrow space would be awkward if she drew her sword.

Another step.

Her feet spread and she took a defensive stance. She grimaced in annoyance. Who the hell was down here this late?

There was another step. Whoever this was, they were taking their sure sweet time to confront her.

The darkness spoke.

"Put your weapon down, Kurome."

It was a calm voice, and sarcastically soft-spoken. She gasped in joy, quickly lowering the sword and leaning on a stone wall.

"Wave!" she called excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me" it replied. "How's it going?"

"Wave...I...I did what you asked of me. I injected Tatsumi with that syringe..."

"I understand. Thank you, Kurome. You were always the most thorough one of the group."

She smiled, warmth spreading through her body.

"Thanks, Wave."

The smile turned to a grin. Standing straight and holding her sword up, she looked to end of the cellar. Her stare suddenly took on a crazed expectancy.

"So...can we do it? Like we agreed?"

Silence answered her.

"I don't even need to unsheath it. Come on, Wave. Join my army. We could use someone of your skill."

Again, the darkness ignored her. Her tone became desperate.

"Wave...I did as you asked. We made a deal" she pleaded. "Please, just-"

" **SHUT UP."**

Something gripped her throat and pushed her against the wall, lifting her feet off the floor. The sword dropped to the ground. Struggling to breathe, she reached around for the hand on her neck. There was nothing there.

"Wave...what are you."

" **You've finished your task. Shut your filthy whore mouth. I don't need you anymore."**

Tears trickled down her cheeks. Her hands continued to try to grab Wave, but kept finding nothing.

"Wave- _grk-_ why...why-"

The pressure on her neck tightened until her words transformed into horrible, throaty gags.

" **What did I say, whore? Shut your filthy** _ **mouth."**_

The grip on her neck disappeared, only to be replaced by pain in her shoulders and head as she was thrown to the floor. In ragged gasps she caught her breath, backing up as far as she could. A boyish, staccato cackle arose from the end of the cellar. The darkness, in Wave's voice, was laughing at her.

"Kurome, seriously" it chuckled; "shut the fuck up. You're really annoying me right now. Is that what you wanted?"

She coughed violently, reaching around for her sword. Than she remembered it was back where she was choked.

"People are so absolutely _disgusting"_ the voice declared. "Make one deal that suits their greedy selves, and they'll _always_ hold you to it. Like, what? Excuse me, but I don't care about a deal. I don't care about you. What the hell else did'ja expect?!"

Pressure slammed onto her mouth, sending pain shooting through her skull as it hit the floor. Hands restrained her limbs, spreading her legs. Through her shut mouth she screamed.

Suddenly there was a smile in its voice.

"Since you like makin' deals so much..."

Something hard and sleek slapped her thigh before sliding up to her waist. From it's feel she recognized it as her scabbard.

"...lemme play with you a bit, than you can have your sword back. Deal?"


End file.
